Made' For Eachother
by nivet
Summary: The both of them were created to kill and bring pain to the enemies of their master. They will struggle to find purpose outside of what they were created for, and their connection will be put to the test as loyalties change.
1. Life

In the flesh pits, the sorcerer Shang Tsung stood over a wooden table with the body of a women laying on it. She was very lean, a strong and athletic but at the same time very womanly body, with the curves that would make most women envious and nearly all men fill with desire. It was a testament to Shang Tsung's discipline, or maybe his lack arousal to such things; he had after all seen the naked bodies of many women in this bloody place, most recently that of Mileena. Either way, he was able to have the woman's top down with her incredible and large breasts fully exposed and still work diligently. Of course, he did have his hands buried in her chest and arranging arteries.

"My patience is wearing thin Shang Tsung." Someone said behind him in a deep voice.

"I am done now my emperor, all that remains is for you to use your power to bring her to life." Shang Tsung said.

"Good, give it to me." Shao Kahn ordered.

Out of a box Shang Tsung pulled a human heart out of a pool of blood. He held it to Shao Kahn, and the emperor raised his hand and greenish energy left from his hand into the heart. After a few moments, the heart started to beat. Shao Kahn smiled widely.

"Thousands of bodies..." Shao Kahn said, looking towards the piles of bones littering the room.

Shang Tsung placed the heart into the woman's chest cavity.

"All the blood of the warriors that have been slain in my conquests of the realms, all that power in one being."

The arteries joined together with the beating heart, and the incision joined back together, healing completing.

"My new fighter, my new killer, Skarlet."

The woman's eyes snapped open, with red eyes full of sudden life, blood pumping furiously through her body.

"She is breathing properly, and her body is able to hold it's shape on it's own." Shang Tsung said, touching her shoulder.

The moment his hand touched her skin, it was like the entire sensation was felt all over her body. Her immediate response to this was aggression, and she grabbed the sorcerer's hand and flipped him over the table. Immediately after she leapt from the table onto the ground, weary of the massive man with the skull face looming over her.

"What is this sorcerer?" Shao Kahn asked, approaching Skarlet.

"I don't know!"

"I am your emperor girl, your creator. I command you to stop, now!" Shao Kahn demanded.

Skarlet's response was to leap at him in an attempt to attack. Shao Kahn merely used his surprising speed to back hand her onto the ground, and then grabbing her by her red and slightly black hair and pulling her head back. Skarlet clawed at his hand in pain.

"You dare! Submit now or I will break you myself." Shao Kahn threatened.

While Kahn easily ignored the pain of her nails scratching his hand, she managed to draw blood which now spread on her hand. She absorbed it through her own skin and instantly felt her power grow. Skarlet turned her body into pure blood, and she slipped from Shao Kahn's grasp and re materialized behind him. The large man turned to her and created his deadly war hammer from a flash of green light.

"This is your last chance Skarlet." Kahn grumbled.

Skarlet realized that the emperor was an opponent far too powerful for her to defeat, and so she quickly retreated up the stairs. Kahn stood, shaking with anger. Shang Tsung wearily approached him.

"My emperor.."

"Find her, stop her, and salvage what you can."

Shang Tsung bowed his head and made toward the stairs.

"And Shang Tsung," Kahn said.

The sorcerer stopped in his tracks, turning his head only slightly to give Kahn his attention.

"For every day I need to wait for you to repair her, I will take a piece of you as compensation." Kahn threatened.

Shang Tsung started climbing the stairs again, much more quickly this time. The emperor would enjoy carrying out his threat, probably even if he recovered Skarlet intact.

* * *

Despite wearing high heels and running, Skarlet moved silently. The exertion made her heart pound furiously, making her blood run and stimulating her entire body. She didn't know where she was, only that her name was Skarlet apparently. She stopped just short of the bend around the corner and pressed up against the wall. She took a sharp breath at the coldness of the stone, her body found every smooth face and chipped crack. She listened closely, two different voices echoed from the hall, and they were getting closer. She waited. She heard each heavy step, every inhale and exhale of breath, she even slightly smelled the sweat.

Skarlet breathed heavily but quietly through her mask. The sounds of the approaching footsteps boomed in her tuned ears, and her entire body tensed with anticipation as her blood started racing. The moment she saw the tip of a boot pass the corner, she came around the wall like a bat out of hell, and the ferocity of a predator. She delivered a quick and debilitating neck strike beneath the armor of one target, making him reach for his throat and unable to breath. She turned to the other man, who had yet to react to the lightning quick attack, and punched him straight in the face, disorienting him. Skarlet kicked him in the stomach,pushing him against the wall. She then grabbed the hilt of the other man's sword and in one swift motion pulled it from the scabbard and cut him across the leg. As that man fell to his knees, she spun and impaled the other through the stomach, then pulled it out and delivered a fatal cut across the kneeling man's back. Skarlet turned back to the man she had stabbed, he was sitting against the wall with his blood pouring out of his wound. He would be dead in moments, but he was still conscience. Skarlet brought the sword back and slashed him across the throat, and his blood came splattering onto her belly and legs.

Skarlet waited and let the sprinkler of warm blood coat her lower body. The thrill of combat left her high on sensation. The hard impact of her punch and kick, the feeling and warmth of flesh upon flesh, the hot stickiness and wetness of the blood hitting her skin and seeping beneath her thong, down her thighs and into her boots. She ran her hand up her thigh and her slim belly, coating her fingers in the blood. The blood was absorbed through her skin and she felt the energy lost from the fight return to her, and then some. Gripping the sword tightly in her hand, she walked down the rest of the hall towards the entrance of a huge room, with stone pillars reaching to the ceiling. A huge throne sat at the end of it. Skarlet jumped to attention when she heard loud giggling.

"My my, what is this, my new sister?" Mileena said, stepping out of the shadows.

Skarlet held the sword in a battle stance, and she cautiously circled around Mileena, who did the same. Mileena seemed much more lax, walking haughtily with her hands on her hips as she looked Skarlet up and down.

"No, not a sister. You look too different. Hmmmm, but you are a pretty one. I like the hair, and those eyes, the red against the white really draws me in!" Mileena said like she wasn't aware Skarlet was ready to kill her.

Skarlet remained silent, she was much more weary of this woman than the two guards she had killed. Mileena's expression suddenly turned ugly.

"But that outfit, it definitely shows off the good stuff but it leaves little too the imagination. What do you think Reptile?". Mileena asked towards the doors.

To Skarlet's surprise, the doors closed by themselves. Then the air around them started to warp as something humanoid in shape appeared out of thin air.

"I think she looks delicious." Reptile said.

"Down boy, Shang Tsung insisted that we leave her as intact as possible. It'll mean so much to father." Mileena stopped circling.

With Reptile on one side of her, and Mileena on the other, Skarlet opted to attack Mileena first. Shang Tsung watched from the shadows, and he wasn't pleased. He had instructed Reptile and Mileena to try and avoid killing Skarlet, but Skarlet had no qualms with trying to kill them. After only five minutes of fighting, it was clear that Skarlet was winning. Using her sword, she had cut both Reptile and Mileena and their blood empowered her already seemingly superior combat abilities. If his own well being weren't on the line, Shang Tsung may have been proud to see his creation perform so well. Right now however, he hoped the servant completed the task he had given him.

* * *

Ermac sat cross legged in the chamber of souls, the place where all the souls within him flowed freely, regaining their power. It was also considered to be Ermac's personal quarters, the place where he came to rest and sleep. Sleep, at least sleep that most people enjoyed, wasn't a neccesity for him. Meditating and letting his minds wander was his way of sleeping. While he did so, he was stuck in a kind of dream state. Hints of the lives of the souls that comprised him nagged at his thoughts. It was like only having a partial recollection of a memory, but a thousand times more intense. Ermac's head moved to and fro like he were reading a book, and beneath his head wraps his face winced, smiled, frowned, and scowled as feelings of pain, happiness, anguish and anger assaulted him. He scowled on his own impulse when a panicking voice interrupted his meditation.

"Ermac! Ermac!" A sweating servant said frantically.

The souls swarming around Ermac poured into him, causing a bright green light to shine out of his body. When all the souls had gathered into his body, and he had imposed his will over them, the light flashed and then disappeared. Ermac stood up and put his glowing gaze on the servant.

"Why have you interrupted our regeneration process?" Ermac's multitude of voices asked with collective annoyance.

"Please forgive me Ermac, but Shang Tsung ordered me to come and alert you to a disaster that is occurring."

"A disaster?" Ermac asked, clearly skeptical of the servants dramatic opinion.

"Yes a disaster, someone is running rampant through the palace after having assaulted Shang Tsung and even the Emperor himself!"

"Who has done this?" Ermac asked with sudden interest.

"A woman, she is in the throne room fighting Reptile and Mileena! Shang Tsung wants...where are you going?"

Ermac hadn't waited to hear the rest. He took off running towards the throne room, then used his telekinetic powers to properl himself through the air. One woman causing so much trouble, and fending off Mileena and Reptile alone, it was almost inconceivable. Then again, he knew well the power of some women, if Jade and Kitana were any evidence when they served the emperor.

* * *

Green and red blood sparingly covered Skarlet's body. None of her attacks had been fatal, but every drop of blood empowered her. Mileena and Reptile cautiously kept their distance from Skarlet.

"She's tougher than she looks." Reptile stated.

"I think it would be easier just to cut off her legs. She's still alive, and we get to finaly have some fun." Mileena said while drawing her sais.

"No!" Shang Tsung pleaded.

"I'm not letting this bitch keep having her fun sorcerer, she doesn't play well with others." Mileena said angrily.

The doors to the throne room burst open to reveal Ermac on the other side, green energy emanating from his hand. He strode into the throne room confidently in a way that invited a confrontation.

"Mileena, Reptile, stand down. We will take it from here." Ermac stated.

"Like hell you will!" Mileena challenged defiantly.

"Indeed he shall." Shao Kahn said as he entered the throne room with four heavily armed guards.

The emperor walked towards his throne and sat down in it, with the four guards taking up positions aroun the room. Reptile immediately conceded to his words, and moved off to the side.

"Father, your just in time to watch me turn her into a pincushion." Mileena said cheerfully.

"From what I can see, Skarlet has proved more than a match for you. Ermac shall deal with here now."

"But I can..."

"Mileena, I will not repeat myself again." Shao Kahn stated with authority.

Mileena reluctantly removed herself from the fight, taking the time to hiss at Skarlet once more. Skarlet turned to Ermac despite being surrounded by potential enemies.

"Will you submit, Skarlet?" Ermac asked.

Skarlet's answer was to run towards him with a flurry of slashes. Ermac quickly dodged each one, swaying back and forth. He countered her by catching her hands as she tried to cut him, and infused his fist with telekinetic energy so that he when he punched the flat of the blade, it snapped in half. Skarlet quickly adapted and planted her feet against his mid section, pushing off and pulling her hands free at the same time. She backflipped and landed gracefully, and then slid across the ground on a streak of blood, charging Ermac. Ermac instinctively met her charge with his own telekinetic push. He proved the stronger and Skarlet was thrown backwards, landing hard on the ground.

"Submit Skarlet!" Ermac demanded.

Still laying on the ground, Skarlet grabbed the blade of her broken sword and melted away as her body turned into blood. She reappeared in the air and came down on a surprised Ermac, who threw his hands up in response. Ermac felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He had managed to catch Skarlet's arms, but the blade had cut into his shoulder. He also realized that Skarlet had her legs wrapped around his waist, and she was pressed up against him tightly. Skarlet's own hand was bleeding because the blade cut into it, but if anything she was growing stronger. She pulled the blade out of his shoulder and aimed it towards his neck, and she tried hard to stab him. The both of them grunted in exertion, and Skarlet pressed herself against him tighter and squeezed her legs around him harder so that he couldn't pull her off. Ermac used all his strength to hold her arms away, but as the both of them bled, Skarlet moved the blade closer and closer to his throat.

The two of them couldn't help but stare into each others eyes. Ermac's glowing green eyes reflected in her pupils surrounded by her red irises. For some unexplained reason, Ermac found it harder to concentrate. The souls within him seemed, as best as he could describe it, excited.

Skarlet's body was going ballistic. Every scrape of Ermac's clothing against her chest and belly, every move of his waist against her legs and hips, the touch of his fingers wrapped around her wrists. Almost impossibly, her blood raced faster, all of her sensation was increased tenfold. She was searching his glowing green eyes, almost lost in it.

Shang Tsung watched the two of them fight with a lot of interest. He noticed the change in both their demeanors. They were both still fighting, undeniably, but something else came up between them. If Ermac defeated her, he would need to investigate this.

"You have one...last chance." Ermac warned.

Skarlet just blinked and leaned in more, their faces were close to touching and the blade was almost against Ermac's throat. Telekinetic energy gathered at Ermac's feet and he was launched into the air, carrying a surprised Skarlet with him. Once they were fifteen feet in the air, Ermac cut off the lift and they plummeted to the ground, Skarlet landing first and becoming dislodged from the impact. Skarlets vision was blurry from the head trauma, but she felt someone grab her by the throat before her vision cleared. Ermac stood over her, with one of his fist reared back and surrounded by telekinetic energy.

"Finish her Ermac." Shao Kahn ordered.

Ermac looked to the Emperor in hesitation. Then he felt something on his hand. Skarlet's hand was placed over his where he held her throat, and she raised her other hand over her face in surrender.

"I, submit." Skarlet said.

Her voice was deep for a lady, but also womanly. Ermac could only blink in response. He looked again to Shao Kahn. The emperor looked to be deep in thought. After a few moments he waived his guards over to them.

"Well done Ermac, I can always rely on you. Shang Tsung!"

The sorcerer approached Shao Kahn with his head bowed.

"Yes my..."

"Have Skarlet locked in the dungeon. I want you to learn why she would not listen and fix it. Soon."

Shang Tsung bowed more and then joined the guards. Ermac stood up and half extended his hand to Skarlet, assuming to help her up. He received looks from the guards and Shang Tsung and quickly brought his hand back. He wasn't sure himself why he did that. The guards and Shang Tsung led Skarlet away, and Ermac's souls started to calm down. He himself felt an odd sense of longing.

* * *

_This is an idea that I've wanted to do for awhile. I wanted to wait until I had finished my other stories, but I'm an impatient son of a bitch. Fair warning, things may or may not get a little x rated in later chapters. Read, review, and enjoy._


	2. Feeling

For two days Skarlet had been locked deep in the dungeons. Shao Kahn had her locked down in the lowest dungeons, nobody had been imprisoned in here for centuries. The air had a sharp chill to it, almost none of the heat throughout the palace reached this far down. The air was also damp, and tasted of moisture. An irregular dripping echoed in her ears, but all she felt was the dry stone below her and the steel cuffed chains around her wrists. The rats, having made these dark recesses their home for generations, reacted to their new guest with fear and caution, as well as interest. One rat, young and not yet wise to the precautions taken by his elders, approached the kneeling Skarlet.

Skarlet's body had slowed down from the isolation and confinement. She breathed slowly and quietly, the slight movement of her head and chest stopping her from looking like a statue. Her red eyes opened suddenly when she felt something tickling her thigh. Something poked at her skin, whiskers sweeping over it like a broom while a slightly wet nose twitched against her thigh, sniffing it. Skarlet, without turning her head, focused a predatory stare on the oblivious rodent. Pain. The rat had bitten her, first to test her reaction, now to try and take a piece out of here. The pain incited Skarlet's most basic responses; aggression, survival, defense and retaliation. Her muscles used explosive force to push herself up, coming off the ground. She came back down and crushed the rat beneath her knee. It's back legs and tail panicked for a moment, and then rested on the ground. Skarlet growled and tugged at her chains, standing as high as she could until the cuffs stretched as far as they could and cut into her wrists. Her red and black hair fall into her face as she whipped her head around. She thrashed around like a caged animal. The rats scurried away in fear, and her cries of pain and anger and frustration echoed as if the stone walls around her were too shocked to handle it, unused to the loud sounds.

Despite her tantrum, she suddenly stopped, like an animal enjoying it's kill noticing movement from an enemy. She turned her ear to the door of her room. Footsteps, the pair closer being softer, like a fine leather sole. The other pair was heavy and clunky, metal. She sniffed the air. Her room already congested her sense of smell with water, mold, and rats. Whoever came down here was on the other side of her door now, because she could smell them. She smelt the closest one, they were clean. The others were sweaty, smelly, and smelt of metal and burnt material. Her door opened and the bearded man that she had awoken to stepped in, the one called Shang Tsung. Behind him were two large, scary looking men. Their skin was a pinkish red, they wore metal boots and gauntlets, as well as helmets that completely covered their head. They were muscular, with rotund bellies and short spikes in their shoulders and arms.

"Now now Skarlet, why are you so upset? I could hear you from three floors above." Shang Tsung told her with a cold smile.

The two fearsome looking men took up positions behind her, while Shang Tsung knelt in front of her.

"Is it because you've been locked down here? That is your own fault you know, you caused quite a bit of trouble."

Skarlet just stared at him, attentive but unresponsive. Shang Tsung searched her face for any intent of saying something, and he pursed his lips while sighing when he found none.

"I know I gave you a brain, I know you can talk. You've only spoken to Ermac though, why is that?" Shang Tsung prodded.

He noticed her reinvigorated attentiveness when he mentioned Ermac. She blinked, lifted her head a little higher to look right at him, and beneath her mask it looked like her jaw clenched.

"Hmmm, how curious. But first, I need to make sure that you are more, malleable..."

The two men behind her put their hands on her. One grabbed her arms, the other held her head in place. She tried to move, but he kept her head looking straight at Shang Tsung. The sorcerer raised an open hand to her face, holding just touching her.

"I need to set some ground rules with you." He said.

Shang Tsung covered her face with his hand and greenish light escaped as Shang Tsung assaulted her mind with his magic. Skarlet didn't yell or protest anymore, she felt her primal urges being focused. What took about five minutes was only moments for Skarlet. Shang Tsung removed his hand and the two reddish men let go of her. She slumped to the ground, exhausted.

"I'll leave you here to think. See you next week, you should be able to survive without food and water until then." Shang Tsung said.

The three of them left and the loud thud of the door closing followed. Skarlet, was experiencing true sleep for the first time.

* * *

Ermac couldn't get his mind, or rather minds off of Skarlet. Ever since his encounter with her, his 'dreams' had been altered in ways he couldn't explain. Anger was now accompanied by betrayal and loss, sadness and anguish by disappointment and longing.

His exhale of hoarse breath made him open his shining green eyes. Had he been holding his breath? He thought so, if his deep inhaling now was any evidence. He sounded like several people breathing at once, a by product of his creation that applied to every part of his speech. He stood up and approached the demon shaped soul well. The souls already inside him wanted to break out and join the sea of green. For a being comprised completely of souls, physically it was like he was expanding, evaporating. Ermac drained the soul well, restoring his power and allowing him to take control.

The souls submitted to his own will, and in the midst of all the conflicting memories and feelings, his own personality took shape. Calm, calculating...sad, angry, wanting! The ambush of emotions gave him a mental blank. While 'sleeping', these small breakthroughs of thoughts and feelings were tiny parts of the lives imprisoned inside him, echoes. But now he was himself, if a being comprised of thousands of others could ever really refer to themselves as such. Regardless, these feelings played against his personality differently. The sadness was not justified, the anger unwarranted, the wanting was above all confusing. It all was confusing. Only one thing was clear; he never had this kind of problem controling himself, or his selves until six weeks ago...

"Skarlet." Ermac said like a crowd.

He decided that he needed to get some answers. He made the short journey from the soul well chamber to the massive doors of the throne room. He paused, his hand resting on one of the handles. He wasn't afraid, he was nervous. That wasn't due to the souls inside him either, that was all him. He pushed the large door open, it creaked in a grand way, smoother and mightier than any creaky door could ever be. Ermac strode forward with his head slightly bowed. Higher perhaps than the guards, but lower than the larger man sitting in an equally large throne. Shao Kahn was currently speaking to a soldier that was giving a report. Ermac of course was expected to wait in silence, and he did.

"How many are there?" Kahn asked.

"Nine of them, including your daughter."

Mileena, who had been standing on the other side of the throne, snarled threateningly at the soldier. Shao Kahn held up a finger to her, and she kept her place, but still stared daggers at the man.

"Forgive me, Kitana is among them." The soldier said between fearfully chattering teeth.

"Relay this message to Baraka; he is to personally lead a specialized group of warriors to hunt down and eliminate Raiden's chosen fighters. If he requires reinforcements he shall have them. Now begone!" Shao Kahn ordered.

The soldier nodded and shrank away, wary of annoying the emperor in anyway and getting too close to Mileena. Kahn adjusted himself in his seat and finally noticed Ermac, still standing in bowed silence.

"Ermac, you were not summoned." Kahn told him.

"We came on our own, Emperor."

"For what reason? I have much to attend to, I trust that you wouldn't waste my time unless it was absolutely important?" The emperor asked darkly.

Ermac blinked in his moment of silence. He hoped that he wasn't.

"We have been having...troubles." Ermac stated uncertainly.

Mileena giggled at him, and he grimaced under his wrappings. Could he have sounded more pathetically cryptic?

"Troubles...such as?" Shao Kahn asked, clearly annoyed.

"Troubles with control." Ermac tried again.

"State your meaning before I lose my patience Ermac."

"Ever since our encounter with Skarlet, we have been racked with, nightmares." He immediately regretted using the word.

"Nightmares..." Shao Kahn repeated in irritated disbelief.

"Aww, would you like me to make you a teddy bear for bedtime Ermac?" Mileena mocked.

"These powerful and almost overwhelming thoughts have afflicted us during our regeneration process. It has become a distraction. A major distraction."

Ermac deliberately underplayed the effect it had on his own persona. He didn't want to seem too weak and vulnerable. Shao Kahn stroked his chin, thinking.

"And what do you propose I do about it?" Shao Kahn asked.

Ermac didn't dare presume that he could demand the emperor do anything.

"We...would make a request, emperor."

"Considering your success against Skarlet six weeks ago,"

"If you had given me a few more minutes..."

"Mileena!" Shao Kahn silenced.

Mileena dipped her head and remained silent.

"Considering your success against Skarlet six weeks ago, I will hear your request."

Ermac contemplated what he was about to say. He wasn't entirely sure if this would help him, but he had an intense desire to do it anyway. It couldn't hurt, he decided.

"We would like to see Skarlet." Ermac said.

Mileena looked like she was going to say something, but she decided not to test her father's patience anymore. Ermac anxiously awaited Shao Kahn's answer. Suddenly, that mighty creaking of large arrogant doors could be heard.

"Granted." Shao Kahn said.

Confusedly, Ermac turned and saw Shang Tsung entering the throne room, with Skarlet in tow. No guards, not even a watchful eye on her.

"I present to you, Skarlet." Shang Tsung said with a smug smile.

The woman strode towards him. Ermac found her eyes; she was looking right at him as well. His mind was assaulted again by the same feelings he had felt in the soul well chamber. Only, another one this time, one that hadn't been strong enough for him to notice until now. Happiness. During his meditations small recollections of happy moments came to him, but they had been subtle, unspecific, just the feeling rather than an actual moment. Now that happiness was so much more. It was caring, fun, pleasure, even lo..

She walked right past him. Ermac continued to look where she was a moment ago, staring dumbly. He blinked and slightly shook his head, scolding himself for being so undisciplined. As soon as he turned to see her, those feelings that he had just scolded himself for losing to immediately tried to overtake him again.

Skarlet took a knee in front of Shao Kahn, her head bowed low respectfully.

"My emperor, Shao Kahn the Konquerer. I am your weapon, to be drawn at your command, and to cut whoever opposes you." Skarlet said.

Skarlet heard heavy footsteps. Then a finger, a large finger, lifted her head by her chin. This touch radiated with power, and she felt, dominated by it. Her red eyes met the deep orange ones that lay beneath Shao Kahn's helmet.

"Skarlet." He said triumphantly.

He turned and went back to his throne. Skarlet stood up straight and waited for the emperor's words, as did everyone else present.

"Now that order has been restored to my warriors, I have a mission for you Skarlet. I have seen your abilities first hand, and I think you would be perfect."

"Your word, my hand." Skarlet stated.

Shao Kahn then turned his head to Ermac. Ermac read the emperor's intentions, and he gulped down a small lump in his throat. It wasn't just because the emperor's visage was fearsome, it was because the emperor hadn't forgotten his request.

* * *

_This story is tough to write. I myself sometimes got confused when I tried to make a distinction between Ermac himself and his selves; being the other minds making him up. It's a bitch to think through, but it adds to his complexity and will be a common theme throughout the story. Skarlet didn't get much face time this chapter, but she got way more than Ermac last chapter so just say that this is evening things out for both characters. Skarlet is depicted as being absolutely loyal to Shao Kahn in the game, and I wanted to show that in this chapter. Thank you very much to JuniorMints, Subterranean Stepdancer, sunfire130, and HavenRose for the reviews. The first few reviewers are usually the most interested in my opinion. Read, review, and enjoy._


	3. A Notch on My Blade

Skarlet had decided something; she didn't like the heat. She was in the armory, and burning fires and molten metal surrounded her. The heat was so intense that it stung her super-humanly sensitive body. Even the dungeon environment was more comfortable than this. The screech of a metal hoist rang her ears, and then the sizzle of boiling water. She approached the man like creature hammering a piece of metal into a blade. He looked very similar to the two that had come to see her with Shang Tsung, but he was a different one. He hammered a few times before turning to her, like he just suddenly noticed she was there.

"I'm here for my weapons." Skarlet told him.

He just stared at her with his helmet, silent. Skarlet furrowed her brow slightly, not sure whether the man was slow or deaf.

"The weapons for Skarlet." She tried again.

The blacksmith seemed to get the picture, and he pulled a rolled up piece of leather out from under his workbench. He dropped it in her arms and returned to his work, looking like he forgot she was there. Skarlet, with the rough hide under her arm, swiftly left the heat of the armory behind. Whilst traveling to the portal chamber, she took deep breaths of the much cooler, cleaner air. The trickles of sweat on her arms, legs, back, chest and head felt like tickling fingers running along her body. When she entered the portal chamber, she sat on her knees and started to unroll the leather. She found five blades and two fine leather holsters. Two of the blades we very thin, and short, only maybe as long as her forearm. It was very light, and it had no hilt, she could have released the grip just a little and it would have slipped through her fingers. In fact, she did, and caught the blade instead. She just applied enough pressure to hold it. She took it in her other hand and found a tiny slice in her finger, so thin that she barely felt it, and anyone else may not have. It's twin was identical in every way, and holding both of them felt comfortably deadly, she felt powerful with such modest weapons. She took one of the holsters and wrapped it around her waist, tucking it under her thong. She slid each of the two black scabbards into their place on the back of the holster. The twin blades slid smoothly into the scabbards, making a sharp _shing_. The blades formed an x-shape on the spot just above the bend of her ass. Skarlet swayed her hips forward and back, side to side, testing the feel of wearing the blades. It felt good, not hindering her movements.

The second holster was circular. It was too large to fit on her arm, so she concluded that it went on her leg. She slipped it up her boot and to her thigh. It felt like the other holster, fine leather, like skin upon her skin, sliding higher up her thigh. She took one of the trio of the other blades, kunai. They were shorter than her knives, but thicker, and heavier. The edge was just as sharp, and the edge was on both sides of the blade, as opposed to just the side of her knives. She tucked it into one of the three spaces in the holster on her thigh, and then she placed the other two into their spots as well. These kunai didn't have scabbards, they stuck out the back slightly with their sharp points. She brought up her leg, first sliding her knee up close to her body and then extending her leg upwards, almost above her head. Bringing it back down, she moved her hands up and down her thigh. The kunai felt a little more noticeable than her knives, but she could hardly complain.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her head stood up. She thought she was alone in the room, and she hadn't heard or smelt anyone else. She grabbed one of her knives and quickly turned around, drawing it. Her free hand found a shoulder to grab, but her knife stopped short of slicing a throat when green energy surrounded her hand. She grunted and pressed harder, but her hand wouldn't move. Her adrenaline and killer instinct pushed her to pull on the enemy's shoulder, bringing them to the blade.

"Skarlet!" A number of people said.

Thinking that perhaps there were more enemies, Skarlet looked up. Ermac had a surprised and slightly strained look. Skarlet's eyes widened and she realized it was just him, and she relaxed herself, lowering her knife.

"We didn't mean to startle you." Ermac told her.

"I didn't know you were in here." Skarlet said.

"We...just arrived."

That was a lie. Ermac had actually been waiting in here before she arrived. Skarlet had been so preoccupied with her weapons that she didn't notice him in the shadows. He had watched her examine the weapons with a professional's eye, and watched as she, tested, the holsters she was wearing. A certain level of, interest, stirred in him, at least until she almost killed him again.

"You are very subtle, Ermac."

Skarlet hadn't smelt or heard him. He wore heavy clothing, but things such as sweat, stench, and breath she could barely notice, if at all. She noticed Ermac look at her other hand, which was still on his shoulder. Her blood flowed quickly, strongly, and it wasn't just because of her adrenaline from a possible fight. Ermac's touch gave her an almost euphoric sensation, and her already extreme sensitivity was stimulated to a greater level, spreading from her hand to her entire body. Though she couldn't know it herself, it was with some reluctance that she slowly slid her hand off his shoulder.

"Emperor Shao Kahn commands that we work together on our mission, yes?" Skarlet asked.

"Yes, but we are also expected to evaluate your performance."

"Evaluate?"

"Indeed. Shang Tsung insists that you have yet to be used to your full potential, and he and the emperor are eager to learn what we will have to report."

Skarlet blinked her red eyes, thinking. The thought that the emperor was dissatisfied with her gave her a bad feeling, she didn't want the emperor disappointed.

"I am eager to please the emperor, and I am ready to leave whenever you are Ermac." Skarlet said determinedly.

"Very good. Come, we have been given the power to open portals temporarily."

Ermac focused his power and opened the vortex like portal. The sounds from what was on the other side came through mangled and warped.

"We must step through to reach our destination."

Ermac stepped up to it, but waited because Skarlet was hesitating.

"Skarlet?" He asked.

Skarlet took a cautious step towards it. She felt her senses leaving her; her eyesight got slightly less colorful and clear, she smelt less, and hearing got less acute. Worst of all, she felt like she was numbing.

"This portal makes me feel odd." Skarlet told Ermac.

"Odd?"

"I, I can't explain."

Ermac thought she sounded almost afraid. This moved something in him, and he felt an overwhelming impulse to comfort and console Skarlet. To protect her. Almost repeating the end of their first encounter, he offered his hand to her. Skarlet looked at his hand, then at him. Also just like their first encounter, his glow reflected in her red eyes while she became lost in his illuminated green eyes.

"It will be fine, we promise." Ermac assured her.

Skarlet took his hand. Both of them were energized by this mutual connection, Skarlet once again received the, joy, of his touch and Ermac's alien impulses were not only satisfied, but empowered. Ermac led her into the portal, and for a few moment's they were made formless, their very being was thrown across the realms.

* * *

Ermac had traveled via portal before, but this was the first time Skarlet had ever experienced anything of the like. It felt like her senses had left her for some other location, and she had followed them, having all her faculties shoved back into her. She was now out in the open, though structures that looked like they were made of stone and glass were everywhere. So much was happening, she smelt so much, heard so much, saw so much, felt so much. It was almost, too much.

"New target acquired!" Someone shouted.

Skarlet's hand went for one of her knives and she anticipated an opponent coming towards her. Instead, she saw several men and women dressed in blue clothing, and sparingly armored. They didn't even try to approach her, they kept their distance.

"Open fire!" one of them ordered.

Her incredibly keen eyes snapped to the flash of light from their hands. Where they magical? She managed to see something small come out of the light, incredibly fast. It zoomed past her head. She could hear the swish in her ear, and felt the air part away from the object and hit the side of her face.

Her only response to this new threat was to attack it viciously, and so she sprinted towards the attackers. More flashes of fire, more small objects speeding towards her, and then the air in front of her turned greenish, and then the small objects bounced away. Ermac walked in front of her, his outstretched hands glowing with green energy.

"Our foes fight with firearms, not swords." Ermac stated calmly.

The police officers looked even more panicked as Ermac advanced on them and his barrier swatted their bullets away like flies. Some of them started to take worried steps back, while a brave but ultimately foolish few tried to hold the line. Ermac swiped his hand across the air and turned his barrier into a wave of force. The officers were knocked off their feet violently. Ermac brought his other hand back and trusted it forward. Three of the many abandoned and destroyed cars that littered the streets were thrown forward. Some of the officers screamed in terror as the broken cars rolled over them, or crushed them as they fell from the air.

Ermac calmed his powers, sure that all the officers were dead. He turned to Skarlet, who's red eyes convened confusion.

"What was that? What magic do they command?" Skarlet asked.

Ermac scoffed at the notion of their 'magic'.

"It is no magic; we are in Earthrealm. Their strength is their inventiveness. You will find your fights here to be very different than in Outworld.." Skarlet's head snappedside attention in another direction suddenly.

Ermac curiously followed her focused stare. One of the officers had hidden and now she was running for her life. Ermac prepared to pursue but then Skarlet sprinted after the woman. Her speed was amazing, in the short time it took Ermac to start running, she had already cleared the bridge by a ways. Skarlet swiftly ran over debris and dead bodies, the back of the fleeing woman was getting closer to her. She ran atop another abandoned car and took a running leap into the air. She pulled out both of her knives midair, like razor sharp wings. With a thud she landed on the officer, stabbing her in the back. The woman was still alive, she was breathing, but it was strained. Skarlet stood up enough so that she could turn the woman over. When Skarlet had pounced on her, the woman had smashed her lip on the ground and it was now bleeding profusely. Skarlet placed one of her knives near the woman's throat, but she moved her head about, knocking it away. Skarlet used her free hand to hold her mouth and keep her head from moving. The woman protested, but it was obviously muffled. Skarlet felt the hot air being blown out her nose and onto her hand, the wetness of her lips, and the warm rejuvenating blood.

In full view of her victim, Skarlet placed the knife against her throat. The woman looked like she was trying desperately to make her eyes look down enough to see it. She was clearly afraid, she was probably hyperventilating, her chest expanded and contractedto hard it hit Skarlet's thighs. Skarlet cut her throat open, and the woman tried to push her off, but it was futile. The life left her eyes seemingly at the same rate her blood sprayed onto Skarlet's mid section. Once she was sure the woman was dead, Skarlet stood up and wiped the blood off her knife with her hand. Despite the ferocity of her kill, she herself kept a calm composure.

"Well done."

Skarlet turned to Ermac, who was walking towards her. Her calm composure was affected by his presence, and his approval. The fact that her kill was satisfactory made her, happy?She took her own enjoyment from the act, but Ermac's approval made it vastly better.

"You spoke as if these Earthrealm natives were powerful, but they are weaker then even the guards at the emperors palace without their weapons."

"Well we weren't sent here to fight this trash. A group of powerful warriors led by the thunder god Raiden are our main targets." Ermac told her.

"Then let's hunt them down!"

"They could be anywhere, the leader of the tarkatan invasion force, Baraka, has been in charge of searching for..." Suddenly a static noise was heard.

Both of them heard it coming from the dead woman that Skarlet had slain. Ermac pulled a communicator from the woman's corpse and listened.

"Attention all police forces, we are losing ground to the invaders. This is Kurtis Stryker, and I am giving the order for anyone that is able to make it back to the police station to do so immediately. I repeat, this is Kurtis Stryker, and we all units are to fall back at the rendezvous point at the police station.

* * *

_I shouldn't have updated this so soon, but I'm clearly playing favorites and now I'm writing my stories out of order. This is officially my second favorite story to write. Anyway a few points: if it seems like I'm ogling Skarlet, evident by what I write, well it's because I am. I hope nobody is offended, but I'll be the first to say that there is no room for prudes. Also, if Skarlet seems sadistic, I'm doing that on purpose. Judging from her fatalities and moves, it seems to fit. Finally, all the time I take to describe both Skarlet and Ermac's feelings is relevant, and I'll show why in later chapters. This was a very Skarlet central chapter, I don't know if I'll make a pattern outta going between the two. Read, review, suggest, and enjoy._


	4. Up Close and Personal

"All of you advance forward, now!" Baraka ordered.

A squad of eight tarkatan's, armed with a mix of firearms and their arm blades, charged one of the hastily assembled, ramshackle barricades set up around the police station. While they lacked the skill of Earthrealmers with guns, their greater speed and durability allowed them to reach and scale the barricades. The officers taking cover behind them were quickly shot or chopped to pieces. The tarkatan's were too busy relishing in their kills to notice the grenade being lobbed into the middle of their group. The violent explosion obliterated three of them, and knocked two more off their feet, disoriented. The three that weren't affected except for being engulfed by dust snarled angrily at the heavily, cap wearing police officer standing before them.

"I don't how the law works where you freaks are from, but in my city, assaulting an officer is a felony." Styker mocked them.

The three tarkatans rushed him. Like a modern cowboy, Stryker quickly drew one of his pistols and fired twice, shooting the the two leading enemies in the forehead. The third shoved past the not yet fallen bodies of his brethren, throwing them onto the ground. He tried to decapitate Stryker, and swung both his blades for the head. Stryker leaned back, dodging the attack, and jabbed the end of one of his nightsticks into the tarkatan's gut, making him bend over. Stryker followed up by clubbing him in the back, forcing him to his knees. Stryker finished him off by shooting him in the back of the head, plastering the ground with blood, brain matter, and a yellow eyeball.

"Damn you freaks are gross." Stryker stated.

He didn't notice the two tarkatans that had been merely incapacitated by his grenade recover behind him, and one of them had a shotgun. The tarkatan took aim; using his blades may have been more honourable, but he knew that this Earthrealm invention created spectacularly bloody wounds this close. Smiling in anticipation, the gunner found himself suddenly spinning, fast. Something had zoomed past him at an impossible speed and brushed past him, making him rotate like a spinning top. When he finally slowed, his vision focused just in time to see a hooked blade coming towards him. Kabal swung his hook sword deep into the tarkatan's belly, starting in one side, slicing through, and exiting out the other side, pulling a considerable length of his intestines out with it. The gunner was dead before he hit the ground due to massive blood loss and trauma. His partner, and the last surviving member of the squad that had attacked, went into a fit of rage. He attempted to slash Kabal, but the masked man parried the blade with his sword. Sparks flew off the the blades as Kabal slid closer and drew his second hook sword, using the dagger on the bottom of the hilt to stab his opponent in the chest. Kabal kneed the tarkatan, pushing the two apart and then used the unique design of his swords to sweep him onto the ground. Kabal made one more downward strike with both swords, and the tarkatan was dead.

"You slowing down Kabal?" Stryker taunted.

Kabal took a deep breath from his rebreather, "The day I slow down is the day you die."

"If you say so Darth."

Kabal ignored the comment.

"How many more officers have arrived?" Kabal asked.

"Not many, and I don't know how much longer we can wait. These freaks are getting bolder."

"Baraka is just withering us down, he can't make a strong enough push to overwhelm us. With the failsafe in place, we can lure him and his forces in and give them one hell of a surprise." Kabal said confidently.

Stryker's face was quite the contrary.

"The failsafe is ready, right?" Kabal asked suspiciously.

"It's getting there."

"Getting there?"

Suddenly they heard a whistling sound, and saw an RPG rocket heading their way. The aim was off, but the explosion showered them in dust and debris.

"Getting there." Stryker stated reassuringly.

Kabal sighed with frustration, then had to take a breath, and almost sighed at that.

* * *

The trek towards the police station was silent with the exception of their footsteps, the crackles of burning fire, the rumble of distant gunfire, and the occasional shriek of terror. Skarlet hadn't been alive for more than two months, and all of that time she had spent in Shao Kahn's palace, and even then just the flesh pits, throne room, armoury, whatever hallways she needed to use, and of course the dungeon. Everything here in Earthrealm was new to her. She had a fascination and wariness of all of it at the same time, but she knew that she was on a mission, and she would not deter her focus, would not disappoint the emperor. Of course, she only knew that she was partnered with Ermac, the actual objective was with him, and that he was evaluating her. Ermac walked alongside her, slightly ahead, silent. She followed him the same way.

Ermac couldn't believe himself; he was uncomfortable, terribly uncomfortable. He was a loner on general principle; he frequently exercised the traits of independency, self discipline, and self reliance. He had to because his entire being was chaotic, thousands of minds, thoughts, and memories confined together. He was the order, the singular control and dominance that made him the deadly warrior that he is. Having others around him, dealing with them more than he really needed to, being distracted, wasn't good. The exact consequences he didn't know, but they couldn't be good. Aside from that, his own disposition allotted him little patience or ability to form friendships. Friendship is perhaps too strong a word; it is doubtful that anyone within Shao Kahn's top echelon of warriors were really friends with each other, despite Mileena's constant joking to the contrary. How ironic; he finally was paired with someone who was like him, and he wanted to talk with her! Skarlet, however, was clearly dead set on completing the mission, and showed no signs of wanting to talk.

Damn! Ermac now realized just what kind of consequences he would face by being distracted; he didn't know where he was going. He clenched his fist and rubbed the bridge of his nose while consoling an exasperated sigh. Without thinking, he turned to look at Skarlet; probably to make sure he hadn't left her somewhere.

"Hmm?" She asked expectantly.

"Nothing." Ermac said hastily.

Ermac was scolding himself, who knows how far they could have traveled in the wrong direction. He had to think, collect his thoughts, focus. Was Skarlet growing impatient? Bored? Ermac gritted his teeth; he was still thinking about the wrong things. Thankfully, they were approaching an entrance to a subway station, and he knew that the platforms had maps.

"In here." Ermac said eagerly.

Skarlet didn't say anything in reply, but he heard the clack of her heels on the steps. With the exception of some rubble and dirt, the subway platform was untouched by the devastation above ground just up the steps. Several of the lights flickered though, periodically shrouding them in darkness.

"What is this place?" Skarlet asked.

Ermac felt some glee in that she finally broke the silence, though he wouldn't admit it.

"This is a subway platform." He stated simply.

"Subway?" Skarlet asked.

"It is a system in which people of this realm travel around their cities quickly; one of many."

"Why are we here?"

"These platforms have maps, we can find the location of the police station by using it."

"You didn't know where it was already?" Skarlet asked with surprise.

"We..." Ermac began as he peered down at the large map bolted to the ground.

As if trying to think of an excuse was bad enough, the lights had finally had it and went out. Despite having glowing eyes, Ermac couldn't see in the dark better than anyone else.

"Dammit!" He cursed.

He tried to make out the mess of lines and names, but with only the meagre light of the sun illuminating the stairs, he couldn't see. He did, however, see the slender finger point to a spot on the map. His gaze followed the finger to a hand, up an arm, to Skarlet's masked face, a strand of her red hair blocking her eye from him.

"We are here, thats what it says. It also says that the police station is...here, to the north." She told him, trailing her finger along the mapped path.

"You can see that?"

"Yes."

"...Impressive." Ermac stated honestly.

If that strand of hair hadn't been in the way, Ermac would have seen Skarlet's eye snap to him. Due to the darkness, and her mask, he wouldn't have seen her smile if he tried. Suddenly, the lights came back to life. Ermac took a sharp breath when Skarlet was so suddenly illuminated, the red and black hair, the flawless white but slightly flushed skin. And her breasts, wait, her breasts! Skarlet had suddenly stood back up to her full height, leaving Ermac momentarily face to face with her chest. He quickly straightened himself as well.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We are not alone." Skarlet stated.

"Are you sure?"

"I smell them, they are bleeding."

Her eyes followed the scent to the ticket booth. An afraid man cautiously poked his head from under the counter, looking at them. Skarlet regarded the man dangerously; she watched him shake and breath fearfully, heard the whispers of his prayers, and the smell of the blood on his head filled her.

"He is just a civilian, he is no danger to us. Come, we should go..." Ermac began.

Growling, Skarlet pulled one of her kunai from her leg and threw it. The small dagger cut through the air, smashed through the window, and imbedded itself into the man's head. The force snapped his head back and pushed him against the wall, and he slid down, dead. Skarlet ran and jumped through the now shattered window into the small booth.

"Skarlet!" Ermac protested.

He approached the booth to find Skarlet pulling her kunai from the dead man's head, cleaning the blood off of it with her hand as always. Ermac noticed a small picture on the counter. It had blood on it, but it depicted the same man that Skarlet had just killed, and three children.

"Why did you kill him? He wasn't a threat to us." Ermac asked, still looking at the picture.

Skarlet placed the kunai back with it's twins.

"He was...bleeding." She told him.

"He couldn't have harmed us if he tried."

"He was, he was, he..." Skarlet couldn't finish.

Ermac spared the dead body one last look before turning to leave. Skarlet placed a leg on the counter to climb over it, but stopped to look at a picture. The man she had killed was in it. She tilted her head, she didn't know what to make of it, and merely placed it back on the counter and followed Ermac back p to the surface.

Ermac knew that the station wasn't far now and he moved with more determination now, with Skarlet in tow. Everything was silent between them, but he was able to focus now, like he had always been able to. After traveling up three streets, they turned onto the street that the police station was on. A building had collapsed, creating a wall of rubble blocking their path. Ermac used his powers to make himself float, before he could do the same for Skarlet, she had already starting climbing the rubble. She moved fast, probably too fast, because she was now high enough for Ermac to look up at her. Ermac wisely didn't do so, the view may have made him lose focus and fall. He floated up and over, and Skarlet jumped down next to him a few moments after. Nodding, Ermac continued. The station shouldn't be too far down this street...

"Did I do something wrong?" Skarlet asked.

The question caught Ermac off guard.

"What could you have done wrong?" Ermac asked her.

"The man in the subway, was I wrong in killing him?"

"He wasn't a threat." Ermac repeated.

"But he was..." Skarlet tried again.

Ermac looked at her, watching her search for an answer.

"He was what?" Ermac asked.

"...I just had to. I had to kill him, he needed to die." Skarlet said.

Ermac didn't say anything, but thought many things.

"Did I displease you?" Skarlet asked.

Had she displeased him? It is true that he didn't think the defenceless man was worth killing...but was he upset?

"We...our opinion is irrelevant."

"But..."

"The emperor's word and will is all there is, what we feel and desire does not matter." Ermac insisted.

He sounded like he was saying it for both of them. It wasn't long before Skarlet told him that she heard the sounds of combat, even though Ermac couldn't himself. After picking up the pace, they came to what could best be described as the war zone. The station must have been in the town square, because it stood alone without any buildings adjacent to it. The roads and sidewalks acting like a moat were strewn with fires, rubble, and bodies. Gunshots abounded.

"We see Baraka has made his way here." Ermac stated.

"How do you know?" Skarlet asked.

Ermac pointed to groups of tarkatans heading towards the station, several were cut down.

"Ermac!" Someone shouted.

Turning to the noise, Ermac saw Baraka a few yards away. He thought most tarkatans looked the same, but Baraka wore distinctive clothing, not to mention being larger than average.

"Come." Ermac ordered Skarlet.

He used his power to lift two destroyed cars in front of them, and the bullets that started flying towards them ricocheted off of them. When they had reached Baraka's shielded position, he dropped the cover with a loud thud.

"What are you doing here?" Baraka asked him.

"The emperor sent us here to assist you in hunting down Raiden's chosen warriors, and.." Baraka completely ignored him, instead stepping towards Skarlet.

"And who are you?" Baraka asked her.

"Skarlet." She stated simply.

Baraka took a heavy sniff of her. Tarkatans could smell blood, even when someone wasn't bleeding. This woman absolutely reeked of it.

"She is Shao Kahn's newest warrior; she is deadly." Ermac explained.

"Really? That is good; two of Raiden's chosen warriors have been cornered in that building, along with a substantial number of other humans."

"What's been stopping you from killing them?" Ermac asked.

"I sent some soldiers to try and circle around, but the sides and back of the building are heavily defended. I think that is there escape route. We can move through the middle, but only a few at a time, not in full force. If we could breach the front then we could destroy them from the inside."

"Then try again." Skarlet told him.

"I just told you why we can't." Baraka said, annoyed.

"Now you can, assemble your men." Ermac told him.

* * *

"Are you certain this will work?" Baraka asked.

"It has to." Ermac told him.

Along with Baraka and Skarlet, Ermac stood behind two overturned vehicles. They both read HUMV on the side, whatever that meant.

"After we breakthrough, follow in our path and show the enemy no mercy!" Baraka shouted to the assembled group of tarkatan soldiers.

They cheered loudly, raising their guns and blades into the air.

"For the emperor!" Baraka shouted.

"For the emperor!" The group shouted.

"For the emperor." Skarlet said much more quietly, but equally intense.

Ermac, after a few moments, whispered the same.

"For the emperor."

The two vehicles were encircled with telekinetic energy, and lifted off the ground a little. Ermac waited until he was sure he could hold it, and then started running, with the HUMVs just a few feet in front of him. Baraka and Skarlet followed him, and they all heard the bullets hitting the cars. Ermac created a small gap in between them so he could see how close they were, they were very close.

"This is it!" Ermac warned.

Gathering even more energy he launched the two HUMVs forward. The officers that waited behind overturned tables covered their eyes from the dust and debris that showered them when the doors were destroyed. The two HUMVs rolled over whatever was in their way, forcing the officers to abandon their fortified positions. Those that remained tried to see through the cloud of dirt, searching for anything coming. When Baraka came roaring through the doorway, it was already too late. The ferocious tarkatan eviscerated all of them, swinging his blades wildly but skill, and sending arms, legs, head, and even whole torsos falling onto the ground. Ermac and Skarlet trailed behind. Ermac took heavy breaths.

"Are you okay?" Skarlet asked.

"That took more out of us than we anticipated, but we will be fine." He assured her.

They joined Baraka, and his soldiers quickly started to file in through the entrance.

"Finally we have made some headway! Tarkatans, fan out and kill all the humans you find, none will escape!" Baraka ordered.

The soldiers did as they were ordered, and broke off into groups. It wasn't long until they started hearing gunshots.

"You two search upstairs. If you find Raiden's warriors, end them." Baraka said before leaving off with one of the groups.

Ermac and Skarlet quickly moved upstairs. They hadn't encountered anyone, which was suspicious. They then came to the middle of a long hallway, which stretched far in either direction.

"We should split up." Skarlet suggested.

"Are you sure that is wise?" Ermac asked.

"We will find someone faster if we do." Skarlet said, already walking down one way.

"Be careful." Ermac muttered before he could even think about stopping himself.

The slight sway of her red ponytail showed that she had at least heard him, but she didn't say anything in response. Ermac started off in the opposite direction before he could think that he was hurt by her silence.

* * *

The station seemed even larger inside than it looked on the outside, Skarlet had already turned twice, though she was sure she was moving in a square, and would probably reunite with Ermac. The thought made her walk a little faster. She stopped when she heard breathing, deep breathing, and a cough? She turned and saw a masked man standing at the end of the hall from where she had come.

"Hey there." He said.

Suddenly, he was moving, fast. Too fast, even Skarlet couldn't follow his movement. He zoomed past her, and SKarlet was spinning. She stopped herself, and her vision recovered quickly. The Kabal came running at her again, this time hitting her in the head as he zoomed by. Skarlet fell to her knees, rubbing her jaw.

"You Outworlder's never learn." Kabal mocked.

He came running at her again, but this time Skarlet stretched her arm out in his path. Kabal close lined himself on her arm, sliding across the ground and going into a coughing fit. Skarlet's shoulder was dislocated, but she popped it back into place. The pain gave fuel to her adrenaline and rage. Kabal finally stopped coughing when he got to his feet. Skarlet drew both of her knives.

"I learn quickly." She said dangerously.

Kabal drew both of his hook swords.

"Alright, lets play!"

* * *

Ermac kept pouring energy into the barrier he had set up. He had encountered an officer, this one much more heavily armed than the others. Upon meeting, the officer had sworn, and then started shooting both his pistols at him. A bullet wounded his arm before he could make the barrier, but now the bullets bounced off of his barrier like balls. Despite this, the officer kept shooting at him.

"You need something stronger than a gun to beat us!" Ermac taunted.

"How about this!" Stryker yelled back.

He pulled a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin with his mouth, and then rolled the grenade over to Ermac. The telekinetic warrior increased the barriers power, but the explosion still pushed him back from force alone. Wind blew in; the explosion had torn a chunk out of the wall and showed the scene outside. Stryker started shooting at him again. Angry and fed up with blocking the bullets, Ermac grabbed the pistols with his powers and tore them from Strykers grasp, and threw them out of the opening outside.

"We've had enough of your toys!" Ermac said angrily.

"Come get some lightbulb!" Stryker retorted.

Ermac teleported across the hole in the floor, and reappeared behind Stryker. As Stryker turned his head, Ermac punched him, making him turn back around. Stryker tried to back hand him, but Ermac ducked it and punched him in the gut, before turning him towards the other end of the hall and gathering telekinetic energy in his palm. Ermac planted his palm to Stryker's chest, and the police officer went flying down the hall, slamming into the wall and slumping to the ground. Ermac walked to him silently and inspected him. Once he kneeled down, Stryker shoved his taser into Ermac's neck. Ermac screamed like an opera house as he was shocked. Stryker took advantage and up kicked him right on the chin. Ermac fell onto his back and Stryker was on top of him momentarily, placing one of his nightsticks on his throat.

"You assholes think you can invade my home? Not while I'm on duty!" Stryker told him angrily, pressing the stick down harder.

Ermac tried to push him off, but Stryker was stronger than him. Desperate, he took his hands off the stick and placed them against Stryker's abdomen. With Stryker crushing his windpipe, Ermac blasted him off, propelling him into the ceiling. He caught him with his power as he came back down, and held him in the air, staring angrily.

"You should have taken the day off." Ermac told him before throwing Stryker through the wall.

* * *

The walls were scarred from all the missed sword strikes. Skarlet's weapons weren't really designed for prolonged sword fights, they were made to quickly and efficiently kill. It is because of this that she had to try and get in close and take small cuts. Despite his body being severely burned, Kabal showed no signs of being hindered by them. It wasn't until a few minutes of fighting had past that she did notice a weakness; his stamina. She could hear his loud and strained breathing, but she also heard his heart beating harder than it could handle. His sword strikes were also getting slower. She waited, he attempted a downward strike and she drove her fist into his wrist, stopping his attack. She sliced him twice in the chest, and ducked under a swing from his other sword. Despite having incredible sprinting ability, Skarlet had proven faster than Kabal overall. So much fast in fact that when she ducked his attack, and when his arm was directly over her, she stabbed her knife up through his forearm, expertly avoiding the bone. Kabal grunted in pain and dropped his sword. After blood from his arm had dripped on her face, Skarlet jumped against the wall and pushed off of it, twisting her hips and viciously kicking Kabal in the face, sending pieces of his mask flying off. Almost at the exact time she did so, a man came bursting through the wall. Ermac followed soon after.

"Are you okay Skarlet?" Ermac asked worriedly, noticing her bruises and cuts.

"Better than okay." She said.

Kabal got to his feet fist, and Stryker did as well, though with more difficulty. Ermac and Skarlet took fighting stances.

"We can't handle these two, I think." Kabal stated.

"Probably not, time to punch out." Stryker said.

"Is it ready?"

"I hope so."

Kabal sighed with frustration and and threw two of his spinning blades out. The devices spun along the ground, slicing it up. Ermac and Skarlet dodged them easily, but it gave Stryker enough time to use his last grenade to blow a hole in the wall.

"Go, I'll be right behind you." Stryker said.

"You better!" Kabal said before he jumped out.

However, Stryker didn't follow him. Instead, he pulled a small object out of his pocket.

"The thing about attacking a police station is that there isn't a shortage of things that go boom!" Stryker shouted at Ermac and Skarlet.

Ermac realized what the object was; a detonator. The whole station could have been rigged with explosives, and Baraka and the bulk of his men were inside. He knew what had to be done immediately; he picked up Skarlet with his powers and through her out the opening in the wall. As she fell through the air, Ermac tackled Stryker to the ground, but he already pressed the button. Ermac felt the vibrations, and even Skarlet felt the air shift as she fell through the air. The explosion started in the basement, went up to the main lobby, and finally reached upstairs. As the police station was turned into a fireball around him, Ermac thought he heard someone calling his name, but the sound got fainter and fainter like it was moving away, or falling.

* * *

Skarlet opened her eyes weakly. Her whole body hurt, her ears were ringing, all she could smell was ash, and all she could see was broken concrete, fire, and the husk of the police station, now collapsed. She couldn't believe that she was in there just a few moments with...

"Ermac!" She gasped.

She forced herself to get to her feet. She could feel all the little splinters and pebbles that had pressed themselves into her skin, like hundreds of little needles, but she didn't care. Some of her clothing was ripped, but she didn't care. She stepped over dead bodies, their blood calling to her, but she didn't care. Something drew her to a high spot in the rubble. She climbed it, ignoring the sharp pieces of wood and metal that cut her. She stopped when she came to a pile of wooden rafters. She hefted them off of the body underneath them. His green eyes were closed, and his wrappings were shredded showing parts, but not all of his face. Blood trickled out of wounds and burns on his body. Skarlet's hand hovered over Ermac's face, almost afraid to touch it. Beneath her mask, her mouth hung open, without anything to describe what she felt right now. A few feet from her, some rubble shifted, and Stryker pulled himself out of it. He was injured, and could barely moved. Blood poured from his head and arms. Skarlet turned her head slowly towards him, her red eyes were wide with unbridled fury. She pulled both of her knives out. She channeled exactly how she felt onto him. Yelling like an animal Skarlet attacked him. She plunged one knife into his ear, turning his head towards her. Weakly, he stared at her, defeated. Skarlet took in every detail, how he sounded, smelt, looked, and when she sliced his throat open, felt. Stryker's blood squirted out all over her, drenching her face, hair, shoulders and breasts in warm blood. Skarlet let his body flop to the ground. Covered in blood, she felt stronger, more powerful, and her fury didn't waiver. All around her, humans and tarkatans that had survived the explosion started to pop out of the rubble. To Skarlet, they were all fair game.

Skarlet went berserk. Using her knives she cut everyone around her into a bloody mess, but not moving too far from Ermac's body, like an animal protecting it's food. Red and purple blood covered her like a second skin, and she growled with more and more ferocity with every cut and stab. Some tried to get away from here, but this just made the kill more satisfying. Each breath of hot air ignited her lungs and shook her body. Each step she could feel the debris shift beneath her, painting a picture of the devastation she stood upon, some of she had caused herself. Each hit, every time her blade met flesh, she could feel the skin parting, running away from her. And finally the blood, all the blood, she felt right. She felt unstoppable. Nothing was stopping her from acting out her desires and urges. And the screams, the screams of mercy from the humans, the tarkatans shouting things like they were on the same side.

"Skarlet!"

Someone was yelling her name. A challenger?

"Skarlet!"

No, that voice, those voices.

"Skarlet!" Ermac shouted again.

SKarlet finally ended her rampage, but the adrenaline, the high, it was still there. Ermac's voice rocked her every time he shouted. She ran back to where she had found him and, leaning against a still intact wall, was Ermac. She took in the sight of him, his skin and blood, his face, and his eyes, once again glowing green. She needed more. Skarlet was completely dominated by her instincts and urges and adrenaline right now. She approached him.

"Skarlet?"

Skarlet pounced on him, pressing him against the wall and herself against him. Ermac's clothing now had holes in it now, and parts of his skin now touched hers. One of his pants legs was torn open, and her thigh rubbed against his. She pressed herself against him even tighter, as impossible as that may have seemed, and one of her hands reached around his back and rested near his shoulders. Ermac was almost as enthralled as she was. He noticed how strong she felt, she didn't need to show her strength, he actually felt it. He remembered noticing it well during his fight with her, but now was different, much more different. He also remembered how much the minds in his head went crazy when he was this close to her, but now was different, much more different. He felt tired before, he had used his powers a lot, but now he thought that he was strong enough to do it all again.

Skarlet shook with every breath, she had her face buried in the crook of his neck right now. When she inhaled, she took in his scent. Skarlet moved her other hand to his face. It was amazing, after wearing his face wrappings all the time, feeling his face now was just amazing. She dragged her head up his neck, looking at him. She was only an inch shorter than him, and she could look directly at him. They found each other's eyes again, green mixed with red, red lost in green. She touched her forehead to his, and despite that part of his head still being covered, it all felt...right.

"Skarlet." Ermac tried again, quietly.

"I thought you were dead." She said quietly.

To Ermac's complete shock, a tear dripped down her cheek, almost passing onto his. She didn't look like she was sad though.

"You bitch!" Someone shouted.

Ermac turned his head, but Skarlet still clung to him. Baraka, with both his blades out, and several tarkatans, approached them angrily.

"She killed some of my men! I will cut her to pieces!" Baraka threatened.

Ermac furrowed his brow in anger.

"No you won't."

"Get out of my way!"

Ermac, without using his hands, blasted Baraka off his feet. The other tarkatans moved to his aid.

"I will take her away." Ermac said.

"I want her head!" Baraka demanded.

"And the emperor will want yours in exchange." Ermac told him.

Growling viscously, Baraka backed off. Ermac created a portal back to Outworld, and with Skarlet covered in blood, the two of them left Earthrealm behind, for now.

* * *

_So we had gunfights, heart to heart talks, Ermac got blown da hell up, Skarlet flipped her shit, and Ermac got dry humped afterwards. That is a good day if you ask me. Read, review, and enjoy._


	5. Harsh Lessons and Difficult Questions

_First off, along with Subterranean Stepdancer and HavenRose, I would like to thank en-lumine for their review of the previous chapter. Normally I would just do this via pm, but that wasn't an option so thank you for the kind and encouraging review. So to recap where we left off, Ermac and Skarlet had completed their first mission together, though it got rough in the end. They teamed up with Baraka to take on Stryker and Kabal, and in the aftermath of that fight Skarlet went on a rampage, killing humans and tarkatans alike. And Stryker as well. Now the two of them are back in Outworld, here we go._

* * *

It would seem that Ermac's temporary power to open portals was more limited than he realized; the portal he had opened for Skarlet and himself to return to Outworld had brought them straight to the emperor's throne room, where, among others, Shao Kahn waited expectantly. He definitely did not want to come here, at least not immediately. They were both a mess. Skarlet was practically painted red and purple, both colours were still fresh, and had a lively hue despite the former hosts being very, very dead. It seemed that Skarlet could absorb small splashes of blood through her skin instantly, but being covered in it, not so much. On top of the second skin of blood, she had several cuts and bruises all over her body. While her superhuman healing abilities was already at work, they added details to an already displeasing picture. Finally, her clothing was torn all over, and it made one wonder how she remained...'decent' at all.

Ermac himself wasn't looking well either. He had gaping wounds that only weren't bleeding profusely because they had been cauterized during Stryker's explosion. It was debatable whether or not he was better off; the burns stung horribly. His clothing was shredded, worst of all his head wrappings which now only clung to parts of his face. Some would say that wearing such headgear was pointless and that one may as well wear nothing at all, but Ermac rarely got pommeled as bad as he had. On what clothing was intact and on what bare skin showed, blood covered it. That same blood was all over Skarlet, and had been spread onto him when she had...embraced him.

"What happened?" Shao Kahn's voice boomed.

Ermac noticed that Skarlet's head was bowed. She hadn't looked up since they arrived. Ermac knew that it was customary for everyone to dip their heads slightly when the emperor addressed them, but Skarlet made him think of a hound submitting to it's master.

"Emperor, we joined Baraka's forces in an attempt to kill two of Raiden's chosen warriors. The police officer, Stryker, and the former Black Dragon Kabal were leading a small but capable resistance against your soldiers." Ermac told him.

"I look at the two of you and I am not reassured. Are Raiden's warriors dead?" Kahn asked.

"Just one, our emperor." Ermac stated.

To Ermac's trepidation, Shao Kahn stood from his throne and started walking down the short flight of stairs to their level. Mileena, who had been standing next to Kahn, smiled with anticipation, evidenced by how far her mask spread. Reptile, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, quickly moved out of the emperor's path, sparing a withering glance at the two of them. When he reached the bottom, Shao Kahn, who stood over seven feet tall, loomed over Ermac and Skarlet, who were only 5'8 and 5'7 respectively.

"You know I do not abide failure with mercy Ermac." Shao Kahn said angrily.

Ermac silently lowered his head, unable to meet Shao Kahn's reddish orange gaze.

"How could you let one of them escape?" Kahn asked.

"They had set a trap for Baraka's soldiers, and we were caught in it when it was sprung. Kabal had escaped while Stryker stayed behind."

Shao Kahn merely grunted and then turned his attention to Skarlet. He gripped her arm roughly like she were a mere child, and insolent. At his touch, Skarlet took a sharp breath and finally raised her head, but only just enough that her face was visible. Shao Kahn's hand easily wrapped around her arm, and as surely as he showed dominance over her physically, she immediately underwent a mental change. Her persistent feelings of bloodthirstiness, lust for combat, and instinct driven adaptation were calmed. Her blood moved at a greater pace, but it was because of hidden anticipation, silent sub conscious preparation. She was calmed, but poised, a weapon in it's handler's grasp.

"Only tarkatans bleed this kind of blood; why are you covered in it?" Shao Kahn asked her.

"Our emperor..." Ermac tried to cut in.

"I am asking Skarlet, Ermac. Skarlet, why are you covered in tarkatan blood."

When Skarlet answered, she did so in such a stoic manner, she didn't sound like she understood what she had done.

"It is from several of the soldiers that were under Baraka's leadership. I killed them."

"Emperor she..." Ermac tried again.

Shao Kahn held up a hand, hushing him.

"You've attacked me, my henchmen, and now you have killed my soldiers, and on your first mission no less!" Shao Kahn shouted in her face.

Ermac couldn't help staring at Skarlet; she looked scared and sad, something he had never seen in here before.

"What good is a weapon that can't differentiate between friend or foe?"

"Were it not for Skarlet then both of the targets would have escaped!" Ermac cut in too fast for Shao Kahn to dismiss.

The lumbering man now turned his attention to Ermac, taking into account all the injuries he had suffered.

"What do you mean?"

"One of the two targets, Stryker, after he activated his trap we were...incapacitated. Skarlet was the one who killed him."

"Incapacitated? You look like you were thoroughly thrashed Ermac." Shao Kahn grumbled.

"Yes, emperor." Ermac said simply.

"You were responsible for Skarlet on this mission Ermac, why did she murder my soldiers"

Ermac glanced over at Skarlet, eyes still lowered, and not speaking. He remembered what she had told him when she, when she...the memory was like a rock dropping in a stagnant pond. The souls and minds within him went into a riot, and emotions such as anger, fear, sadness, longing, and happiness all swirled together. It strained his control, threatening to overwhelm Ermac himself, he risked losing himself to the horde.

"She, thought we were dead." Ermac said.

Skarlet blinked back small tears that tried to pour out of her eyes. She didn't know why she was compelled to cry; the memory of when she believed Ermac to be dead simply washed over her and she couldn't help herself.

"We ordered her to stop, and she did." Ermac added.

Shao Kahn narrowed his eyes at Ermac. The implications, however unintended they may be, from his report were troubling.

"Why is my emperor confused? I thought I was created to kill; and have done so to please you." Skarlet said suddenly.

All around the room, the sounds of helmed heads turning in shock, a low hiss from Reptile which was equivalent to a gasp for him, stifled giggles from Mileena, and Shang Tsung clearing his throat were heard. Thanks to his glowing eyes, Ermac could still face Shao Kahn while really looking at Skarlet, with mortification in this instant. Most believed that Skarlet had just signed her own death warrant, but to everyone's surprise, Shao Kahn merely snickered.

"I suppose you have Skarlet, and killing one of Raiden's chosen warriors is something that my soldiers haven't been able to do. However, you seem to have an issue with authority."

"I will follow your every command to the fullest!" Skarlet told him.

"You'd better; I have no use for a weapon that I cannot control..."

He glanced over at Ermac.

"...Or one that is ineffective." He said lowly.

"I am neither." Skarlet stated.

"Really? Are you prepared to follow my every order?"

Skarlet's response was to raise her head so that she looked Shao Kahn in the eyes.

"Good. Stab Ermac!"

Without a second of hesitation, Skarlet drew one of her knives and, holding it backwards, and stabbed Ermac in the ribs. Ermac half gasped and half gurgled because of the blood that started to escape into his throat and mouth. Ermac looked at the knife stuck in him, and followed the hand holding it all the way up to Skarlet's face. She looked so fierce, and remorseless. She looked like she was enjoying it!

"There is only one authority Skarlet; mine. No matter what, in the end, your actions are my will given form."

Blood dripped out of the side of Ermac's mouth, and the broken stream of red poured onto Skarlet's hand. She took a heavy but silent breath, and her mask expanded because her nostrils flared and her mouth dropped open a little to accommodate her breath intake. Most striking, her pupils dilated slightly.

"That's enough." Shao Kahn said while walking back up to his throne.

Skarlet slid her knife out of Ermac and pinched the blade between her thumb and finger, and wiped the blood off of it before sheathing the knife with it's sister blade. Ermac covered the wound with his hand; he knew it wasn't fatal, and glanced again at Skarlet. She was attentively staring at Shao Kahn, who was now sitting back in his throne.

"Don't forget what you have learned here." Shao Kahn told them grimly.

Skarlet nodded, as did Ermac though with less vigour, because he feared that Kahn was indirectly talking to both of them.

"Now both of you get out of my sight." He ordered.

Shang Tsung came to stand by Skarlet.

"Would you like me to make any...changes?" He asked.

"No sorcerer, I like just the way she is." Kahn said with a cruel smile.

Skarlet and Ermac, along with Shang Tsung, quickly exited the room. Skarlet stared at Ermac, taking great notice of the trail of blood he was leaving. He was walking ahead of her, seemingly ignoring her. Ermac's wound put her back to the moment a few minutes ago when Shao Kahn was in her presence; how enthralled she was, and how eager she was to carry out his will. It had felt so right, she felt happy and satisfied. She didn't understand why Ermac would be displeased with something the emperor wanted. She wanted to reach out to him, or call to him, but she didn't. Next to her, Shang Tsung eyed her analytically, pursing his lips and thinking with interest.

Ermac was angry, and hurt. Skarlet had stabbed him! She didn't seem like she regretted it at all. He knew that the emperor had ordered her to do it, but he couldn't help feel anything but angry and hurt. Skarlet didn't look like she cared at all, despite all he was trying to do to help her avoid the emperor's wrath. He suddenly heard giggling, unmistakable giggling. A mass sigh of his voices expressed his frustration before Mileena was by his side.

"You are really making a mess Ermac." Mileena mocked his bleeding wound.

Ermac didn't respond to her, but this didn't discourage her at all.

"It looks like you been replaced; father has a new favourite. People around here are going to start thinking of Skarlet as the new and improved Ermac!"

Ermac frowned and turned away from her, involuntarily meeting Skarlet's eyes. At the sight of her, a small wave of happiness and yearning tried to wash over him. However, the anger and betrayal felt across his psyche, or maybe he himself, couldn't be consoled, at least not this soon. He tore away from her gaze, and turned into the next hall, heading to the soul well chamber. Mileena followed him, and took a moment to take in Skarlet's expression. She may have been wearing a face mask, but her body language said it all, and revealed something very amusing, at least in Mileena's opinion. Her shoulders were slumped, eyebrows slumped down, hopelessly lost eyes. She looked positively doleful! And it was because of Ermac, she could tell that much. Mileena caught up to Ermac and, too his surprise and annoyance, she wrapped one of her arms around him, clinging to him.

"Don't worry Ermac, I'm still your friend!" Mileena said with excessive glee.

Skarlet's expression immediately shifted from upset to livid, almost entirely on impulse. She gritted her teeth, and clenched her fists to the point where her knuckles popped. This tensity spread across her whole body; her muscles flexed, her blood pumped faster while her heart pulsed in her ears. Where it not for Shang Tsung leading her to the dungeons, she may have taken a detour their way.

* * *

That night, Shang Tsung lay awake in his quarters, pondering over notes, diagrams, and personal entries made in his journals. His room was quite lavish compared to that of others; however he had since fallen out of favour with Shao Kahn after allowing Earthrealm to win both the Mortal Kombat tournaments that he had organized. In fact, if Quan Chi hadn't made this invasion of Earthrealm possible, Shang Tsung honestly believed that Shao Kahn would have killed him by now. He also feared what the emperor planned for him once this invasion was over. Shao Kahn had coveted Earthrealm for centuries, and for the better part of that time Shang Tsung had been serving as his lieutenant to that end. It was unlikely that Khan would stop his endless conquest of the realms; the Chaosrealm and the realm of order, Seido, even the Netherrealm still awaited. How many more realms existed to be conquered was anyone's guess. Shao Kahn may find him valuable enough to keep around; or he may just discard him once this conquest was over. The only thing that Shang Tsung had done recently that may have proved his worth to the emperor was create Skarlet, and even that has been an imperfect endeavour.

The thought of Skarlet drew his attention back to the mess in front of him. Pictures of bone structures, tendons and organs, as well as scrawled notes littered his desk. They were dated differently; he had been analyzing her growth and development for months. He admitted with no small amount of pride that she was the most difficult project he had ever created. He had to create a functional body out of pure blood, he had to allow for her blood to form solid bones, living muscles, working organs, skin, and even hair and be able to turn back into liquid blood by will alone. The result was astounding; a person with more strength and speed and endurance than any of the people she was composed off could ever hope to possess. Skarlet healed at an inhuman rate, or rather, the culmination of thousands of human's ability to heal. She would never scar nor be crippled, she was near immune to illness and only the most potent diseases and poisons could affect her, and given time anything but fatal damage would heal. Her senses are exponentially greater than anyone other human. She had eagle like vision, could smell as well as any hound, hear like a bat, and her sense of touch was so extreme that a pin prick put her whole body on alert. Essentially, she was a woman with thousands of eyes, thousands of noses, thousands of ears, and thousands of nerves packed into one body.

As amazing as her body was, her physiological situation was another matter entirely. He remembered how she acted when she first came to life, before his work on her mind. She was so animalistic, feral, instinctual. He surmised that, because her construct was oriented around maximizing the most basic aspects of the body, her mental development was lacking. She was driven by instinct and impulse, requiring basic needs. She was the ultimate predator, but Shao Kahn needed a weapon, not a pet. He warped her mind so that she could reason and be less of a savage and more of an agent. It seems that he was only partially successful. She had killed indiscriminately and wiped out a fair share of Shao Kahn's soldiers. He had created a focused, subservient savage. She was a walking, talking oxymoron.

The most peculiar thing he has noticed about her was her change in demeanour when in the presence of Ermac. Like Shao Kahn, he seemed to have a calming effect on her. However, he had made her so that she would serve Shao Kahn loyally, yet she showed odd...feelings towards Ermac. He remembered that she stated that Ermac's supposed death is what triggered her killing frenzy. She clearly has some kind of concern for him, but yet she stabs him without hesitation when ordered to do so by the emperor?

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He remembered when Ermac was first created. He had no issues, Ermac was the ideal enforcer; absolutely loyal, powerful and capable, and ruthlessly efficient and effective. Of course his creation was vastly different from Skarlet's, he was created from thousands of souls...souls? Shang Tsung sat up suddenly. The souls of thousands, the blood of thousands. The minds and bodies. Skarlet's killing frenzy, Ermac's failure to dispose of even one of Raiden's warriors. Could it really be that simple? It was just a hypothesis, but the possibilities had far reaching repercussions. Shang Tsung bore a venomous smile while stroking his beard, plans already been drawn in his head.

* * *

Water dripped from Skarlet's dark crimson hair, her chained arms, and ran down her body to pool on the ground. A few minutes ago one of the handmaidens had come and dumped two buckets full of water on her, washing off all the foreign blood that had dried on her skin. The woman had also stripped her naked and replaced her torn clothing with an identical outfit; a face mask that extended down her neck, a red bra like top, red thong and loin cloth, long red heeled boots with black lace at the top, and forearm and shoulder pads. The water cooled her whole body, and made the chilly dungeon even more frigid. She still found the colder conditions preferable to the excessive heat of places like the armoury.

She had been silent while the woman was present, but exuded hostility, or at the least irritation. She had passing urges to lash out at her. The whole time Skarlet stared daggers at her, and kept clenching her chained hands. Once the woman left the feeling barely subsided, rather it shifted focus. Ermac ignoring her, Mileena putting her arm around him, though she couldn't put a name to it, she was angry and jealous. Perhaps more than that, she yearned and felt challenged. She yearned for Ermac's attention, and felt challenged by his hostility towards her, as well as Mileena. The animal in her wanted to break out of here, wanted to claim her...'territory'. However, Shao Kahn's influence held her steady; displeasing him or invoking his wrath, the thought alone was almost painful. So she stayed calm, the cold nipping at her body, her breathing echoing into her ears, looking at every grain of sand or dirt on the dully lit floor, and smelling some displeasing scent.

That scent put her on guard. It was foreign, she knew the smell of the dampness and the rats in here, not this. Next she heard the footsteps, three pairs from the sound of it, very fast, very heavy. She then saw the handle on the door twist, and then felt the gust of wind blow into her when the door was kicked open. Walking in were three snarling tarkatans.

"This is her?" One asked.

"Just smell her! She stinks of a fresh kill!" Another said.

"But she is so small, so meagre."

"Do not let her appearance fool you!" The third said, seeming to be the leader.

He walked around her, sniffing and growling. Skarlet could accurately where he was even when he was behind her because of her hearing and because she could feel his presence; his body heat, the static between her hairs and him.

"I was there when she crawled out of the burning rubble and slaughtered our brethren. Baraka would have torn her apart were it not for Ermac's interference."

"But she is Shao Kahn's prized weapon; the emperor would surely kill us if we took her life."

"The emperor will never know we were here. And who says we are going to kill her?"

After grunting angrily, the lead tarkatan kicked Skarlet in the side of the head, hard. As soon as his boot made contact, Skarlet felt the rough bottom scraping her cheek, the dirt and sand being worked into her skin, and finally the force behind it pushing her head to the side. Her whole body responded to this attack on this single area, she tensed and flexed and the throbbing pain resonated all over. She let her head dangle, staring at the grinning attacker out of the corner of her eye, growling lowly.

"You won't have the luxury of dying; you'll get as much pain as our friends did."

He kicked her again, this time near the meeting point of her shoulder and neck. This strained her against the chains that held her in place. Skarlet wanted to attack and tear them apart, but she knew that she had already defied the emperor once by attacking his soldiers. She wouldn't act again without his blessing. The tarkatan punched her and she fell back down.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked the other two.

The two other tarkatans joined in on the beating, and soon even Skarlet couldn't help gasping, grunting, and crying out from the pain.

* * *

Ermac sat cross legged on the cold floor with the soul well emitting its usual hum behind him. He meditated, but didn't go so far as to allow the souls within him to pour into the sea of green of the soul well. He had too much to think about for that. For one thing, his wounds still pained him, though he had them dressed and cleaned. After that he had dressed himself in new clothes; this outfit was very similar to his previous one, with the main difference being what he now wore on his head. Instead of the gold tipped black head wraps, he wore a more traditional face mask and a hood.

He was thankful that Mileena had finally lost interest in annoying him, he was in even less a mood than normal for it. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he was this angry. For the most part he tried to remain emotionless, but he has become infuriatingly more susceptible to them since meeting Skarlet. The thought of her angered him more. She stabbed him so eagerly, after he tried to defend her from Shao Kahn, after they had...bonded together on the mission. Bonded? Is that really what happened? Ermac took a moment to be introspective. She had stabbed him on Kahn's orders, he remembered that he told Skarlet himself that the emperor's will was everything. At least, that is what his mind told him. The mob of thoughts in his head told him to be angry, hateful even. Then some told him to be forgiving and understanding. Had it seeped into his own mind, if that truly even existed? Whichever was true, he just couldn't shake this feeling of betrayal.

With his eyes closed, he decided that perhaps it would be best if he started his regeneration process and slowly allowed the souls within him to start leaving. Gradually, his own consciousness disbanded, giving way to the most prominent voices in his head. The thoughts, partial memories, and feelings swam through his head, each having its turn...

* * *

One of the tarkatans extended his arm blade and shallowly cut Skarlet across her belly. She felt the foreign object penetrate her skin, felt the flesh pull back, and felt the blood start to leave the inner warmth and crawl down her skin.

* * *

Ermac suddenly grunted and shook in his 'sleep'. Then he did so again and again, each time with more energy. He got louder, and his head whipped around like he was looking for something despite his eyes being closed. The vague pictures, sounds, smells, and feelings that revolved around in his mind started to give way to something else. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but if he was dreaming before, he was definitely having a nightmare now.

* * *

One of the tarkatans kneed Skarlet in the chin, flipping her onto her back with her arms suspended in the air. All three tarkatans mercilessly pummelled her.

* * *

Ermac's eyes snapped open, glowing and furious. This rage had come over him and he didn't know why, and for the first time in his memory he was completely at the mercy of his compulsions. He hopped to his feet and the floor was hit hard; Ermac's telekinetic energy was practically leaking out. He was running, fast, and then gliding through the air. Some invisible force pulled him this way and that, eventually to a dark stairwell. He quickly levitated down the stairs, and at the bottom, he started running past doors. Hundreds of doors. Doors that have held countless victims of torture and Shao Kahn's conquests. He suddenly stopped in front of the last one. He heard angry grunts and pained whines. He opened the door on three surprised tarkatans who all extended their pair of blades. While a fearsome sight for most, Ermac completely disregarded them because all he was focused on was Skarlet, beaten and bloody.

Ermac turned a dangerous look on the three tarkatans. Raising one hand, he grabbed all three of them with his powers and lifted them into the air. With a swipe of his hand he pinned all three to different spots on the walls. They protested, one pleaded, but like a murderous puppeteer, Ermac made two of them lift their arms and then flung them into each other. The two tarkatans screamed as they flew towards one another before getting impaled on each other's blades. Ermac let them dangle for a moment, their blood twined together in a purplish downpour. He let the two bodies drop, still nailed together, and pulled the third off the wall. Ermac raised an open hand and slowly started to close it. Painfully slowly, literally, because the tarkatan started to gradually bend backwards. He tried fighting against it, but Ermac's hold was a force of nature. Ermac's hand closed halfway and the tarkatan was bent far enough that it was painful. Suddenly, Ermac clenched his hand into a fist and the tarkatan was completely folded backwards, his spine made a cracking sound that echoed. Ermac causally dropped him like a piece of garbage.

He nervously approached Skarlet, who was still laying on the ground. She was bleeding, and had light bruises. Her expression was pained and struggling to stay conscious. The overwhelming rage that afflicted him turned to sympathy, worry, and sorrow. Ermac rested his hand just below the cut on her slim belly.

Suddenly, Skarlet sprang to life again, like his touch was a shot of epinephrin. She convulsed, kicking her feet across the ground, tugging at the chains and breathing rapidly. Ermac pulled his hand back thinking that he had hurt her, but found that she was staring right at him. He leaned in closer to her, putting his hand behind her back to help support her. Her chest extended far to accommodate her breath after that.

"They were hurting me." Skarlet said quietly.

"I...I know. I stopped them." Ermac told her.

How did he know? The overwhelming feelings that had brought him here subsided, and he started to realize what he had done. He had been taken over by something that wasn't him, what he had always feared had happened in a moments notice because of her. The realization confused him, and horrified him. Ermac had to force himself to get up. Skarlet knelt back on her knees, staring up at him. He couldn't read her, he couldn't be in here, already he felt the whispers coming back. Ermac quickly left the room, slamming the door shut and leaning up against it. He cringed and commanded all within him to be his again. He waited a few moments, but it felt like minutes. Despite his belief that he had himself under control again, something lingered. A rock hadn't dropped into his pond, a rock would just sink beneath the surface. No, blood had dripped into his pond, causing a ripple, and when everything settled, leaving the pond dyed a scarlet red.

* * *

_This was a very wordy chapter, not too much action. I wanted to show just how strong an influence Shao Kahn had over Skarlet and Ermac, as well as the stark contrasts between Ermac and Skarlet's thoughts. I was also being deliberately vague during Shang Tsung's scene; most of you will probably get what he was hinting at. If not, well that will be revealed later on. Read, review, and enjoy._


	6. The First Course

It had been three days since Skarlet had been locked up again. Three days since she had bathed herself in freshly drawn blood following a glorious frenzy of killing. Three days since Ermac had saved her from the three attacking tarkatans that had beaten her almost unconscious. The remains of said tarkatans had been reduced to mere bones and shreds of clothing, along with their blades that now, because the tissue and muscles that once held them had been devoured, lay on the ground. The families of rats that infested every hole had made quick work of the bodies.

The rats stayed clear of Skarlet, as always. They feared her immensely, but as of late they were even more cautious. The bestial minds of the rodents picked up on her energy; she seemed poised to strike at any moment. Before she was completely motionless, asleep by the looks of it. Now her whole head followed wherever she looked, and she often tugged lightly at her chains, trying to move beyond her allotted range.

Skarlet's blood ran hot, hotter than usual and flowed at an increased pace as well. She yearned for something; but she didn't know what. The higher cognitive capabilities that Shang Tsung had given her had started to deteriorate, or rather give way to a more bestial and instinctive mind. The only thing she cared to think about now was how she was feeling; anxious, restless, her constant and deep seeded savage fierceness, and this new feeling. She felt a throbbing sensation and given her unique physiology, her entire body reacted to the stimulation.

She never used to have these feelings while locked up down here, but her recent experiences had given her a lot to desire. She took pleasure in the knowledge that she was doing Shao Kahn's bidding, and the fighting, killing, blood, it was pure decadence for her.

However, one thought piqued her interest and called to her so much that it demanded all of her attention. Ermac. This yearning feeling; she still didn't know exactly what it was, but she knew it involved Ermac for certain. Before she could muse over that anymore, a familiar scent caught her attention, along with a new one that made her mouth water. She also picked up the scuff of a familiar pair of shoes, and she knew that it was Shang Tsung at the door even before he opened it.

"It's nice to see you again Skarlet, I trust you've been well?" Tsung asked in a friendly but shallow tone.

He pursed his lips while giving the tarkatan skeletons a disinterested look. This must be the reason why he saw Ermac coming out of the dungeon passageway a few days ago, coming from Skarlet's cell he suspected. It seems the connection of their creation had more effects that he didn't anticipate.

"Are you hungry? I notice you eyeing this." He gestured to the covered plate in his hand.

Skarlet had indeed been staring at it; the smell was intoxicating. Her stomach made it's desire known, and her whole body acted like one giant mouth as her legs, arms, and even torso moved towards the concealed delight. Tsung placed it on the ground in front of her, and for the moment her attention was completely focused on that spot, until Tsung pulled at her chains. Skarlet moved towards him but he raised his hand to her and she felt compelled to obey.

"Don't cross me girl, you won't take me by surprise again. I made you and I can end you just as well, do you understand?"

Shang Tsung took Skarlet's silence and slight relaxation as a yes. He used his key to unlock both shackles. Skarlet rubbed her scratched wrists and stretched her legs and back after standing to her full height for the first time in three days. She kept her focus equally on Shang Tsung and on the delicious smelling plate.

"Now that you are more comfortable, please, eat." Shang Tsung removed the cover to reveal a generous slab of seasoned and cooked me.

"I had the cook prepare it so that it is rare, I think you'll enjoy it." Tsung said with a smile.

Skarlet scooped the plate up and brought it to her chest; she was absolutely ravenous. She was about to pick the meat up with her hand, but after she shot Shang Tsung a look, she opted to instead use one of her knives to cut a piece off and used the blade as a fork. She took the meat eagerly into her mouth. As Shang Tsung had said, it was cooked rare; it was still pink and bloody, much to her delight.

Shang Tsung was impressed; Skarlet had resisted her more bestial urges and used the brains he had given her. He had to admit to herself that he found her beauty remarkable. Her body of course, but since her face was covered almost all the time, he could appreciate seeing it now. She had deep, angled eyes with dark eyelashes that contrasted beautifully against here red irises. Her hair, a dark red with strands of black, was tied into a low ponytail as always with two large bangs parting from the middle and framing the sides of her brow. Her nose was plain, but in it's plainness it lacked anything to mar the appearance, quite literally it was simply perfect. Her lips were a fleshy red, round and full. Skarlet popped another piece of meat in her mouth and Tsung saw her healthy gums and pearly white teeth...perhaps his appreciation for her looks came from an artistic and medical perspective.

"You finished that quickly."

"It was good." Skarlet told him, and Tsung took a moment to appreciate her clear, deep, and powerful voice.

"Why did you bring me this?" Skarlet asked.

"Because you deserve it!"

Skarlet looked at him confusedly, utterly lacking any of the jovial attitude that Shang Tsung tried to convey. Faltering under her gaze, Tsung stroked his beard and nudged the skeletal remains of one of the tarkatans with his foot.

"Eh hem, I believe you deserve it because I for one think that you did rather well on your mission..." Shang Tsung told her.

A small smile tugged at Skarlet's mouth.

"...Unlike some people." Shang Tsung added suddenly.

Skarlet's smile immediately changed to a scowl.

"Do you mean the emperor?" She asked him like it was an accusation.

Shang Tsung pretended to be shocked by her sudden seriousness.

"Shao Kahn was justified in his opinion!"

"Really? Why?"

"Because I killed some of his soldiers, and that was...wrong."

"Did it feel wrong to you?"

"...What I feel is irrelevant. The emperor's word is everything, the only thing."

"That sounds awfully scripted Skarlet."

"It is how I feel. It is what Ermac told me."

"Ermac told you how you feel, did he?"

"No, not exactly. Is there a point to this conversation?" Skarlet asked with growing annoyance due to the sorcerer's peculiar questions.

"Amusement." Shang Tsung deadpanned.

He walked back over to the shackles laying on the ground and beckoned for her to come over. Skarlet did so obediently, kneeling and raising her arms. Shang Tsung shut the shackles around her wrists and walked back around to face her.

"Make no mistake Skarlet; you are property, a weapon. Any thoughts you may have of rebellion, of disobeying the emperor if they even still exist are...quite foolish." The sorcerer turned her back on her and started walking towards the door.

"That being said, if opportunity knocks and one does not answer, then one may come out a bigger fool nonetheless. And spending a life time wondering can be quite maddening."

The sorcerer stepped outside and closed the door behind him, and Skarlet listened to his footsteps until they grew faint and quiet, and his scent faded as well. Her sudden appetite had been satiated, though she now had a whole new kind of hunger. She stared at the thing that had dropped from Shang Tsung's pocket; the key. Skarlet stared at it with conflicted emotions. On one hand, it was just a thing to her. Perhaps the sorcerer had dropped it by accident, perhaps not, either way she didn't care. Shao Kahn placed her here, why would she ever need or want to leave and disobey him?

On the other hand, now that she was locked up again and alone, the feelings of restlessness and anxiety from before returned ten fold. The sorcerer's words played over and over again in her head, forcing her bestial urges and higher thought processes to unite in order to make more sense of what she was feeling.

She wanted out.

With neither the emperor or the sorcerer here to influence her with their presence, Skarlet was able to fight back her compulsions to obey them absolutely and without question, but not without some vacillation. She used her heeled boot to pull the key towards her. She used her teeth to pull her mask down and then steeled her arms so that they could support her. Once she was ready, she grabbed the key between both her feet and lifted her legs up. The chains didn't allow her to sit close enough to the ground to rest on her bottom, so now all her weight was being supported by her shoulders. Despite her inhuman strength, she didn't want to stay this way for long. Using her great flexibility she lifted the key to her mouth and took it between her teeth. She took a moment to relax her arms because she would need to stress them again. She decided she would unlock her right arm first, but she couldn't stretch her head that far without having her left arm holding her back. To overcome this, dislocated her left shoulder. The sharp pain was like a thick tube traveling through every vein in her body, sharing the pain across every inch of her.

Skarlet, now able to reach, quickly used her mouth to place the key in the lock and release her right hand. She popped her left shoulder back into place and undid the left shackle with her free hand. The rats that had come back out after Shang Tsung left now scattered into whatever nook and cranny they could find. Skarlet approached the door and stopped just sort of touching it. The urges that compelled her to stay attempted one last time to tame her, but still she turned her body into a pool of blood and slid underneath the door. On the other side she door she turned back to her human form and took off running. She really didn't know where she was going, but right now it didn't matter that much to her.

* * *

_**Next Time**_

**On the hunt, Skarlet stalked her prey. The cool air on her skin, the twigs and leaves brushing against her, the sight and scent of those below calling to her. It was blissful.**

**Ermac twitched, barely able to focus on looking at the blood on his hand. Never had he killed with such pensiveness.**

**This closeness was near unbearable, but for unusual and respectively different reasons.**

* * *

_The bold bit above is a trailer for the next chapter, an idea that I wanted to try. I used it first with my Noob Saibot story. If you have an opinion about it, please leave it in a review. If it's cool I'll keep doing it, if not then I'll stop. Ermac wasn't featured in this chapter, I was going to put more but thought this was good enough as it is. I wanted to give you a closer look at Skarlet's feelings, and Shang Tsung's actions. Expect more from him later on in the story. Read, review, and enjoy._


	7. Freedoms and Chains

The act of sneaking about Shao Kahn's palace was trivial matter for Skarlet. There was no shortage of shadows for her to cling to, no shortage of ways to turn or double back, nor a shortage of negligent guards. If she wanted to, she could have taken an unwary sentry easily, quickly, quietly, and deadly. She had no such desires this time though, not like the first time she had been running rampant on her own. Now she revelled in her perceived freedom.

She moved according to her intuition; she really hadn't made any plan for what she was going to do once she left. Her innate sense of direction brought her to a set of massive double doors, likely just one pair of many located throughout the palace. Despite the sturdy design of the doors, a small breeze from outside squeezed through the tiny gaps between the two doors and the floor. To Skarlet, it may as well have been a cold winter's breeze.

Skarlet grabbed one of the large ring handles and prepared to pull the great door open, but then she became uncertain of what she was doing. Keeping her hand firmly on the handle, she turned and looked down the hall from which she came. It called to her, her homely prison. The memories of Shao Kahn's praising of her made the idea of leaving on her own initiative painful, sickening more like. It left a bad feeling in her stomach. She had felt good when she pleased the emperor, when he was happy that she followed his order and stabbed Ermac...

Skarlet's grip tightened around the door handle, and it seemed like she had woken up, like she was asleep whilst clearly looking down the dark and deserted hallway.

Ermac wasn't happy when she hurt him. She just couldn't understand it; she enjoyed the act of attacking someone immensely, and Ermac had told her himself that they lived to obey Shao Kahn's orders, yet he was not happy with her when she had hurt him. That thought pained her almost as much as the thought of angering Shao Kahn, but it also gave her the kick she needed to turn back to the door. She slowly started pulling it open and the slight breeze intensified as the gap widened, blowing in her face.

She just couldn't wrap her head around it; obey the emperor at the expense of Ermac, or be considerate of Ermac and invoke the emperor's wrath. Choosing between what she lived for and what she...wanted? This conflict put too much strain on her mind, and her more base, beastly, and instinctive feelings and desires took over her. Skarlet suddenly abandoned subtlety and yanked the door open. Shao Kahn's compound lay before her, and she suddenly felt very small.

She was sure that the palace was large, but in reality she had no idea. The entire compound resembled a military fort, with imposing buildings made of masterfully carved stone dotting the landscape. Burning sconces were placed everywhere, illuminating the dark streets. She stepped out further and looked up at the building she had just exited. The palace was easily the tallest structure that she could see, and the most awe inspiring. The top of the building was modelled after the likeness of Shao Kahn's helmet. Skarlet felt like the emperor himself was staring down at her, but she wasn't going to stop now. Skarlet approached one of the massive gates that allowed entrance and exit through the walls that boxed the compound in. After a few minutes of searching, she found a crack in it that allowed enough space for a mouse to crawl through, or someone that could reduce their body to blood. Skarlet melted herself into the the red puddle and slipped through the crack.

After she morphed back into her normal form, she rubbed her eyes, believing something was wrong with her vision. Everything had a purplish tint to it. She realized that it was not her eyes, whatever sun shined above the dark clouds of this place painted the landscape a dark purple! Aside from that oddity, the landscape had no feasible consistency whatsoever. Rocky mountainous trails and valleys stretched one way, and a dense forest crept up from the other with no end in sight because of the seemingly impassible foliage. Skarlet didn't really give much thought to how she made her choice, she just started running towards the forest.

* * *

Ermac exhaled loudly, and sounded almost bored, although that didn't correspond to how he felt. He had one hand outstretched to keep up a barrier he had erected. The transparent green wall cut the street in two, with Ermac and several mangled bodies on one side and four heavily armed special forces soldiers on the other. These soldiers were better trained, better armoured, and had more powerful firearms. One of them even operated a heavy machine gun that poured a stream of screaming bullets at him. It all put strain on Ermac's barrier, but having since left Outworld with Skarlet staying behind, he felt more like himself, or him-selves, either way, his powers were more effective. This barrage of bullets wasn't much more than a annoying pecking to him, but his patience was thinning none the less.

"Any time now!" Ermac said.

On the other side of the barrier, the man leading the special forces squad noticed that the gunfire from the heavy machine gun started to die down.

"Benson, keep of the suppressing fire!"

His order seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Making sure that the other two members of his squad were still keeping Ermac in place, he stopped firing momentarily to turn his attention to the heavy gunner. He looked like he was sleeping on the job!

"Benson! What the fuck are you..." The man suddenly choked on shock.

After nudging his comrade, the man fell over onto the ground, revealing his chest armour, and face, having been melted to the tendons and bones, making a disturbing, sizzling sound.

"M-m-m-medic! He needs a medic!" The man stuttered.

He suddenly felt hot breath on the back of his neck, and heard hissing in his ear.

"Speak for yourself." Reptile mocked.

Before the man could turn, Reptile had already removed his mask and sunk his teeth into the man's neck, making him screech in pain and terror. One of the other soldiers noticed and tried to save his comrade by shooting at Reptile. The Saurian's maw was so strong that he was able to lift the man he was biting off the ground with his mouth and move him in the way of the shots. The man's body shook from each shot slamming into him, squirting misty blood. The shooter could only watch in horror as Reptile crushed his prey's neck in his jaws, making a meaty crack echo outward.

As soon as Reptile dropped his victim, he was off running. The soldier that had tried to save his comrade tried to get a shot lined up on the lizard man that ran in a zig zag pattern at incredible speed, his aim became shakier the closer Reptile got. The moment after, Reptile's clawed hand plunged into his throat. Unable to breath past the scaly fingers, the soldier tried to empty his entire magazine into Reptile's gut as a last ditch effort, but it was all in vain, as Reptile easily turned the gun away from him with his other hand and let the bullets shoot off into the air.

The last remaining special forces soldier watched Reptile turn invisible while ripping his comrade's throat out at the same time. He shook with fear, searching hopelessly for any sign of the hidden slayer. He noticed some debris being disturbed and fired aimlessly at it. Smoke floated up from the spot he had riddled with bullets, but there weren't any signs that he had hit anyone. He then turned his gun on Ermac, who had started approaching him in a ruthlessly ominous way. The soldier shot at him, but Ermac deflected it. He heard a foot step in front of him and turned his gun in the direction, but turned it back when Ermac stepped closer. Streams of fear induced sweat poured down the soldier's face as he repeatedly pointed his gun at Ermac and at the sounds of bodiless steps. He would never get to make a choice; one needed eyes to see where to shoot after all.

Reptile plunged two of his clawed fingers into the soldier's eye sockets, pushing his eyeballs into the back of his head and blinding him. The soldier dropped his gun and pulled at Reptile's forearm; thinking that he could just make everything better by pulling the Saurian's fingers out of his head, all while screaming hysterically. Reptile hissed lowly while pushing his fingers deeper into the poor man's head, forcing him to his knees.

"Aren't you finished yet?" Ermac asked with irritation.

Reptile glanced at him but mostly ignored him, taking much more interest wiggling his digits inside the man's skull, causing excruciating pain. Ermac thought this sadism was pointless, and a waste of time, as well as...not particularly enjoyable. He gathered a ball of green energy in his hand and shot it forth into the soldier's gut, swiftly killing him. Reptile pulled his fingers out of the dead soldier's eye's; they were now a dark red instead of green, and growled while turning on Ermac. Ermac let the energy of his powers become visible in his hands and he levitated himself in the air, now standing three feet above Reptile.

"If you insist on having your fun then do it somewhere that you won't be a pest; we actually have a job to do." Ermac told Reptile.

Reptile took great offence to being derogatorily called a pest, but he was intimidated enough and knew better than to pick a fight with Ermac, especially when the 'one man army' was right. Reptile wiped his bloody fingers on his pants and then turned invisible.

"I'm going to do a quick scout of the perimeter and make sure that we don't get any surprise visitors. I'll meet you at the spot the ritual is going to be performed at shortly." Reptile's disembodied voice explained.

Ermac followed the sounds of shuffling feet until they became too distant for him to pick up; Reptile was gone. Still levitating, he propelled himself through the air towards his destination. This manner of travel may have been a less efficient use of his powers, but right now he preferred it to simply walking. The devastation from Outworld's invasion had escalated to the point that the streets below him were near impassible for someone on foot. As Ermac looked below him, he could read the story of the invasion as it it had happened.

First were the cars, so many cars. People had hopped in them at the first sign of trouble and shoved as much of their belongings as well as friends and family that they could fit inside. Suitcases, heirlooms, stray clothing, now expired food stuffs...children's car seats, toys, pictures of happy times now buried in history because memory has been filled with death and destruction. These vehicles, initially thought to be a saving grace, had now become tombs for the weak, meagre, and the foolishly courageous.

Ermac descended to the ground, sending dust and ash washing over the words of the next chapter.

The people. Men, women, children. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, it was an unbiased genocide. Ermac almost tripped over a body, much to his annoyance. It was nearing the evening and the light of the already setting sun was blocked by the buildings, and the lights that were supposed to turn on and light up the streets were in operational. To top it off, a mist of dust and smokey fog from far away fires made it hard to navigate where his feet were stepping. Ermac sent a weak wave of his power outward, blowing the mist and fog away. He was surprised to find that the cement ground had been stained red from the blood of all the dead bodies around him.

His eye twitched and he rubbed his head; the sight made him think of Skarlet, and it felt like all the voices within him had shouted at once. It felt like an intense migraine had come and gone in an instant and left him dazed and confused. Ermac took a moment to centre himself. He didn't have as much trouble focusing and controlling his selves, he suspected that it was because Skarlet wasn't here, but the thought of her was like a...temptation for the legion within him.

His attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of someone sobbing. He looked to his left; it was coming from inside a small building. The broken glass window on the front looked like it used to read 'Book Store & Library'. Ermac stood in the middle of the street of dead bodies, staring in the direction of the sobbing. Part of him, a combination of Shao Kahn's compulsion and his own indifference to such things urged him to ignore it and continue on his way, and yet, still he investigated.

The door inside was blocked by some overturned furniture, but Ermac was stronger than the average person and had no trouble pushing it out of the way without his powers. The inside of the library was remarkable different from outside; aside from some things having been knocked over and some dust having been blown in through the shattered window, it looked mostly untouched. Books of all kinds of genres and age groups lined the shelves. He followed the sounds of the sobbing like a sad trail until he he turned into the child's section and was met by a loud screech.

A little girl had screamed at the sight of him and moved back into the corner of two book shelves, dragging a little boy with her! They were both rather young, the girl couldn't be more than ten and the boy no more than twelve. The voices in Ermac's head quieted down at the sight of them, and he was certain that 'they', along with 'him', were cohesive during this point of time.

Ermac took a step towards the children but this may the girl look even more terrified, impossibly. He decided to kneel down and show his hands. The girl looked like she calmed down a little.

"Are you a ninja?" She asked him.

Despite himself, Ermac smiled at the question. It was to his understanding that Earthrealmers believed all ninjas wore face masks, like he was. While not necessarily true, it was a rather constant theme.

"No child, we are not a ninja. We are...well we are not a ninja." Ermac doubted that the girl would understand his biology.

"Are you one of those monsters? You aren't as big as them, and you don't have those swords attached to your arms."

"We are not one of them either. We are something else."

The girl looked at the boy at her feet, then again at Ermac.

"Are you a bad guy?"

Ermac blinked at the question.

"We heard you crying from outside. What are you doing here, and who is this?"

"He's my brother, he can't walk! Can you help him?"

The boy stirred but looked like he was teetering on unconsciousness. Ermac noticed the boy's leg was hurt. He felt along the boy's leg and found that his leg was dislocated, not broken.

"We can." Ermac told her.

The girl's face lit up, which in turn lit something in Ermac. He knelt at the boy's side with his hand on his little leg. The boy had woken up enough to squirm.

"What are you doing?" He asked fearfully.

"You're leg is only dislocated, we can move it back into place for you. It will hurt. A lot." Ermac told the boy.

Judging by his face, Ermac's bedside manner left much to be desired. Ermac was content to ignore the boy's fear and tried to perform the procedure, but the boy squirmed and protested.

"That hurts!" The boy told him.

"We told you so, now hold still..."

"No!"

Ermac fought to hold the boy still but became increasingly more frustrated as the child protested. He never realized how infuriating children could be.

"Fine then, stay here! We hope you enjoy reading." Ermac said angrily as he got up to leave.

"Wait!"

Ermac stopped but didn't turn.

"I'm sorry...it just really hurts. I'm scared." The boy told him.

Ermac sighed and went back to it. He knelt down and applied pressure to the boy's leg, getting ready to move it into place. The boy struggled to contain himself, and Ermac noticed. Wanting to make it easier on the child, Ermac placed his hand on the boy's forehead.

"What are you doing?"

"Quiet." Ermac ordered.

Concentrating, Ermac channeled his calm into the boy, making him relax. He kept this up until he popped the limb back into place, making an audible crack. The boy's deep seeded fear of everything that had happened up to this point began to kickback through Ermac's connection, so he quickly cut it off. The boy tried standing, and surprisingly, he was able to with some struggle.

"You did it!" The girl stated gleefully, her attitude having completely flipped.

She hugged the boy and almost knocked him over, but Ermac steadied him.

"How did you do that?" The boy asked.

"Magic." Ermac said while shrugging.

Both of the children chuckled, and again, Ermac smiled beneath his mask.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We were supposed to be waiting for our dad to come pick us up. After awhile I called him from a pay phone and he told me to walk home and wait there, not to let anyone in the house that wasn't him. We've been hiding here since those monsters caught up to us." The boy explained.

"You two are brother and sister?" Ermac asked.

"Yeah, dad was supposed to get our other brother from his daycare. Do you have a phone we can use to call him?"

Ermac realized that he had seen these two kids before. That they mentioned they had a third sibling confirmed it; the picture he had seen in the subway station after Skarlet had killed that man. These children were trying to find a parent that was never going to come.

"Hey, did you hear me?" The boy asked.

"No we don't have a cell phone. You two should leave to somewhere safe." Ermac said, trying to make a hasty getaway.

"Hey wait!" The boy, or the girl shouted after him, he wasn't listening anymore.

The voices were arguing in his head, he needed to get back on track, needed to focus. He couldn't dwell on this guilt, anger, and sympathy that started to assault him.

* * *

Skarlet was having fun, and a lot of it! The forest she had traveled to was so alive, literally. The trees themselves had face like holes in the bark, and mouths that snapped at anything that got close. They also had vines that strangled anyone unlucky enough to be caught in them. Some of the bodies were still fresh and others had decayed to the bone. Skarlet skulked about through the high branches like a lithe hunter. Her incredible sight, hearing, and sense of smell allowed her to track her prey from a distance.

After maybe an hour of trudging through the swamp-like terrain she happened upon a group of bandits. They outnumbered her by six fighters, but numbers meant little in this case. It seems that teamwork meant little as well, because after Skarlet had cut off the heads of two of their number and a third challenged her, the rest abandoned their comrade to his death and took off running. The man they had abandoned actually proved himself a capable fighter because he kept Skarlet occupied long enough for the three deserters to get away. They thought they were safe; they were wrong.

Skarlet didn't initiate the conflict, but she hadn't exactly come with peace in mind either. Her constant bloodlust had her itching for a fight, and the bandits believing her to be an easy target was all the reason she needed. There was something empowering about this, she wasn't killing because the emperor wanted her to, she was killing because she wanted to.

Skarlet stood up in the fork of the tree; where the trunk split into two smaller ones, and looked out over the clearing before her. The three escaping bandits had retreated to their base of operations; a small hamlet by the looks of it. Whatever women they had looked to be here, tending to gardens of edible plants as cleaning laundry. A heavy set man, likely the leader of this bandit clan, approached the three deserters. Skarlet listened to them explain how she had killed the others and how they foolishly believed they had eluded her. The leader explained that another group was due back soon and that once they arrived they would go into the forest to hunt for her.

Skarlet narrowed her eyes and smiled thinly at their arrogance. She liquified her body into blood and let herself drip down the tree. One of the woman that had been washing laundry in the stream along the tree line investigated the strange sight. She touched her hand to the blood dripping down the tree, and as soon as she did so Skarlet made all of her bloody form drop onto the woman, drenching her. The surprised woman didn't stay drenched for long however, because Skarlet then started to retake her human form. The blood at her feet started to become Skarlet's leg, the blood by her throat became Skarlet's hand, holding Skarlet's knife. The woman's throat was sliced open before Skarlet's body fully formed, finishing with her head.

Skarlet saw red, figuratively and literally. The woman's blood squirted into her face, and Skarlet could feel the dampness from behind her mask, could smell the blood through the fabric, and her tongue slid out between her lips on it's own accord, tickling at her mask. Skarlet had closed her eyes because the blood irritated them at first, but like how a swimmer opens their eyes underwater, she opened her eyes under the blood. She saw the woman's eyes roll over, heard her deathly choke, and Skarlet was off running before she hit the ground.

Holding her knives out at her sides, Skarlet fatally cut two of the deserters as she ran past them. The third tried to parry her attack, but she ended up slicing his hand off instead. Before she could delivering the killing blow someone grabbed her from behind, someone big. It must have been the bandit leader, judging from the feel of him, a pot belly with muscular arms. He was much larger than her and was able to wrap his one arm around her, pinning her arms to her side, and his other arm around her neck. Skarlet was stronger than most people, but evidently this man was as well. Skarlet was being deprived of oxygen, and like most people, smart or dumb would do, she panicked. She used her mouth to bring her mask down and then bit into the man's arm, which was hard given that his arm was almost completely under her chin.

He growled in pain but didn't let up, even when Skarlet's teeth drew blood. However, as soon as the blood touched her lips, she began to get the upper hand. Skarlet bit down harder and tore into his arm, wiping his blood across her mouth like poorly applied lipstick. The man's strength added to hers, every drop of blood increasing her power. Skarlet started to slowly move her arms outward against the leader's hold, slowly overpowering him. Suddenly, she brought her arms back and elbowed him in the sides, winding him. Following up, Skarlet pushed off the ground with her legs and forced the two of them into a tree. The impact shook the leader's hold and Skarlet turned on him. She eviscerated his belly, slicing it to ribbons and causing his blood cascade onto the ground. He still had a few seconds of life left in him, and instead of finishing him off with her knives, Skarlet bit into his neck with her teeth. She ripped his throat open, holding some of his flesh in her teeth. The bandit leader slid to the ground and died.

Skarlet spat the flesh out of her mouth but her mouth still remained somewhat filled with blood. The taste of it on her tongue, and when she swallowed, the feel of it sliding down her throat was delightful. She sniffed, she smelt more blood, someone else's blood. She turned to the bandit that she had crippled before and finally finished him off with a quick slice to the jugular. Listening carefully, Skarlet heard shuffling inside the hut near her. Skarlet barged in, kicking the ramshackle door open. The person inside was another woman, but Skarlet didn't really care if her victim was male or female; they were all prey. The woman threw whatever she could at Skarlet as the lethal beauty approached her like a serial killer. Once she was close enough Skarlet stabbed the woman three times in the stomach before giving her a fatal tracheotomy. The woman's body thumped to the ground at Skarlet's feet, leaving Skarlet alone in the small hut. Or so she thought.

She first noticed a foul smell, extremely foul to her extremely acute sense. Next she heard soft moans, and followed the sound and smell to a crib covered by a blanket. Skarlet removed the blanket to find a baby staring up at her, wiggling around. Skarlet tilted her head at the little thing; she had never actually met a baby before. The bad smell was coming from the baby, she could tell. Skarlet lifted her mask back over her mouth and nose. The smell of the bloodied cloth was much more pleasing. The baby made weird sounds, clearly it couldn't speak. She thought about the time before Shang Tsung 'enlightened' her, she realized that she herself wasn't even a year old yet. She didn't talk then either, or at least didn't try to talk until she met Ermac.

The thought of Ermac had an odd effect on her. It was because of the fact that this was a day of firsts for Skarlet that saved the baby's life; this was the first time she had been out on her own, and the first time she had encountered a child. Coming off of the kill streak that she had, Skarlet very well may have killed the baby right then and there had she'd been on a mission for the emperor. Some primitive instinct in her told her to kill the baby anyway, but she didn't want that. The thought of Ermac discouraged her from it. She remembered that he seemed upset when she killed the man in the subway, Ermac had told her that he wasn't a threat. This baby didn't seem like one either.

Skarlet sheathed one of her knives and moved her hand closer to the baby, uncertain of what to do. Suddenly, the baby reached up and grabbed one of her fingers. Skarlet growled and tore her hand out of the baby's tiny grasp. This upset the baby, and it started crying. That sound wasn't good, not good at all. Skarlet was saddened by that sound; she didn't know why yet she couldn't help it. Looking at her hand, and then the baby, Skarlet moved her hand back within the infant's reach. The baby noticed and gripped her finger again.

The baby was so small, Skarlet felt it's smallness through the contact. She thought that if she moved too much she would hurt the baby, and she didn't think she wanted that. The infant's touch was soft, a relaxing softness on her finger, a sensation that spread to and relaxed her whole body. She didn't understand why the infant enjoyed holding her finger so much. Maybe it was like her, hyper sensitive? The baby took her finger into it's mouth; the sticky goober and hot breath felt nice on her finger. The baby then took her finger out of it's mouth, it made a face and drooled more than before. Skarlet noticed that her hand had blood on it and surmised that the baby must not have liked the taste.

"Sorry?" Skarlet half asked and half said.

The baby gave a happy and high pitched squeal, and it shook it's one hand while gripping finger tighter in the other. Skarlet's face softened, and she giggled.

"Do you have a name?" Skarlet asked somewhat rhetorically.

The baby merely continued it's happy squeals, enjoying the sound of her voice, and Skarlet now smiled beneath her mask and caressed the infant's hand with her thumb. Making sure that the baby could still hold onto her finger, Skarlet looked around for anything that would identify the baby. She found a name engraved onto the crib that read 'Ping'.

"You're name is ping?" Skarlet asked.

Ping merely moaned like how all babies did.

"You aren't much of a talker, are you Ping?" Skarlet asked teasingly, cocking an eyebrow at the child.

The baby yawned and turned onto it's side slightly, still holding Skarlet's finger.

"You're like another one of my friends, he doesn't like talking too much either." Skarlet explained, thinking of Ermac.

Her head snapped around when she heard voices from outside. They were faint, but getting closer. She also heard the clattering of swords, axes, maces, and armour. That briefly suppressed killer instinct returned; Skarlet want to go out there and kill all the returning bandits. She moved to do just that, but almost forgot that Ping still held her finger. She looked at the child differently now because of her sudden change in attitude. Ping now looked so weak and vulnerable, and Skarlet could feel the blood flowing underneath Ping's thin skin. She moved her knife into the crib, letting it hover near Ping's cheek. Skarlet's hand shook; that sight of the knife being so close to Ping made her angry and scared. An instinctive feeling told her to smack the blade away as if it were someone else holding it, this feeling told her to protect Ping. It was not unlike how she felt when she believed Ermac to be dead.

The sounds were getting closer, and for the moment, Skarlet's bloodlust and desire to fight and kill was satiated. She sheathed her second knife and rubbed the baby's hand once more.

"Goodbye Ping, I've got to go. By the way, my name is Skarlet."

Skarlet pulled her finger from the baby's grasp, which woke it up. Ping leaned up as much as he could and cried at the sight of the sneaking killer leaving.

* * *

Ermac drowned out the cries and pleas of the people sitting on the ground before him by occupying himself with tedious tasks. He walked around, circling the fifteen men and women while doing a visual inspection of the buildings surrounding them. He wasn't happy about this choice of location; tall buildings boxed them in and any number of enemies could be sneaking about. Suddenly, one of the captives reached and grabbed onto one of his pants legs.

"Please sir, just let me go! I, I, I can pay you! How's a hundred dollars?" The pathetic man pleaded.

Ermac scowled at him and pulled his leg free, but the man was persistent and latched on again.

"Two hundred?"

Ermac kicked the man off with his other leg, sending the man rolling back towards the group, who put up a brave facade of disgust at his pitifulness.

_Hypocrites, all of them. _Ermac thought.

"Try not to kill them yet Ermac, we do need them alive after all." Ermac's companion, the sorcerer Quan Chi said.

Quan Chi looked down at the captives and wore a cruel smile.

"At least for now." The tall, pale man added.

"When will you begin the spell? The longer we wait here the more opportunities we give to Raiden's chosen, or anyone else." Ermac said.

"An soon as the retrieval group arrives with the next batch, we can get underway. Aw, here they come now!"

Ermac followed Quan Chi's stare and saw a pair of tarkatans approaching with the next 'batch'; five citizens that were beaten, bloody, and utterly defeated in spirit. Quan Chi had the tarkatans sit their catch with the others. Once they were kneeling, Quan Chi stood in front of them and placed his hands together in a bowl shape. Speaking in an arcane language, Quan Chi began the process of siphoning the souls of the captive citizens. The captives closest to Quan Chi were affected first. Their souls were like ghosts being painfully ripped from their bodies.

Ermac took a few steps back; this soul draining process made him a little nervous given his nature. Quan Chi noticed this and smirked at him knowingly, but Ermac ignored him. While not necessarily his superior, it was heavily implied that Quan Chi was the head of operations during these kinds of missions, and Ermac treated him as such.

A panic started to spread amongst the captives. They quivered as the strangers around them had their souls drained. Some of them looked to Quan Chi pleadingly, others looked to Ermac himself the same way. Ermac was able to remain indifferent to them; this was the climax of his mission, and he would see it through.

"We've got trouble!" Someone said beside him suddenly.

This startled Ermac and he turned to see Reptile making himself visible again.

"What do you mean we have..."

Suddenly, Ermac saw a flash of light and heard and booming said. He could see a projectile flying towards them; a rocket! Thinking fast, Ermac grabbed the explosive projectile with his powers. The thrust behind him was too strong for him to stop, so he redirected it it instead from the centre of the spell. The missile turned and came rushing towards Ermac and Reptile.

"What are you doing?" Reptile asked in a panicked tone.

Ermac ignored him and threw up a wall of telekinetic energy. The rocket impacted it and exploded. The force behind the explosion moved like a wave, knocking Reptile off his feet and forcing Ermac back. Ermac took a knee because the amount of power needed to control the weapon was exhausting. He looked over to Reptile; the Saurian had been knocked unconscious. He shook his head and noticed Quan Chi had stopped performing his spell with only five people still in possession of their soul; the sorcerer was now fighting a blonde military woman. He recognized her as Sonya Blade. Ermac gathered his power in his fist and moved to stand, but then a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.

"I don't think so!" Someone said in his ear.

Just then, Ermac was flipped into the air and smashed into the ground. His eyes snapped open in time to see a boot about to drop on his face, but he rolled out of the way in time. He quickly got to his feet and was surprised to see who his attacker was. It was another Earthrealm warrior he had encountered before, the man named Jax. Curiously, he had arms beneath his coat.

"How? We destroyed your arms."

"I had some spares." Jax told him.

The larger man ran at Ermac, bringing his fist back. Ermac smirked under his mask and gripped the man's fist with his powers. Unlike last time, the force behind this punch was too great for him to stop, and Jax's fist crashed into Ermac's face like a freight train. Ermac's vision blurred momentarily, and when it came back, he saw the truth. Jax's arms had been replaced by cybernetic ones; faster, stronger, and harder than that of any human.

"You like the upgrades? I do. Now, bring it!" Jax taunted.

Ermac shot an energy bolt at him but Jax dodged it, showing uncanny agility for a man his size. Jax pushed off his powerful legs and performed a superman punch, taking Ermac by surprise with the speed and reach. Ermac flowed with his fall and rolled to his feet. Jax hadn't anticipated this and was caught by Ermac's lifting powers. Ermac slammed him into the ground repeatedly before blasting him away.

"Those new arms have made you over confident. You are the same as before; the only difference is that now your hands are as hard as your head!" Ermac mocked.

"You won't be able to keep running your mouth after I'm done with you!" Jax roared.

He punched the ground and sent a shockwave towards Ermac. Ermac felt it coming and jumped into the air to avoid it. Jax followed him and grabbed him mid air.

"Gotcha!"

Jax flipped him over and smashed Ermac over his knee as they fell to the ground. Ermac's spine took the brunt of the attack and he could only roll off of Jax's knee. Jax didn't let up, he grabbed Ermac by the scruff of his neck and lifted him off the ground only to slam him back down again.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt anymore of these people you freak." Jax proclaimed.

Angry, Ermac poured as much of his power into his fist as he could and pounded the ground, almost mimicking Jax's attack but with even more devastating damage. The ground gave way and a small crater was formed; Jax was thrown into the air and crashed back down hard. Ermac returned Jax's merciless assault with his own; he levitated in the air and dropped down onto Jax's stomach elbow first. Jax coughed up blood, the impact had shattered several of his ribs. Ermac stood over him but then noticed that Sonya had beaten Quan Chi down and was now freeing the remaining captives.

"Hey...you're dealing with me!" Jax said from the ground.

Ermac ignored him and moved to intercept Sonya, but Jax would not be ignored. He grabbed Ermac's foot and pulled him down. Extremely annoyed, Ermac punched him straight in the face, breaking his nose.

"You cowards...attacking civilians..." Jax said, still laying on the ground.

"We have our orders; we thought that you could comprehend something like that, soldier."

"Orders?" Jax spat.

"To hell with you and your orders! Kitana and Jade have spoken about you...a dog with clothes, thats all you are!"

Ermac had had quite enough; he gripped Jax in his power and raised the man into the air.

"Your words anger us; Shao Kahn's will shall be done, no matter the cost."

Ermac started to apply pressure to Jax's head, like how he had done to his arms before.

"You won't be able to replace this, now you die for certain."

Jax gritted his teeth as he felt like his head was stuck between a tool press. Before Ermac could finish him off, someone tackled him to the ground. He thought that maybe Sonya had taken him from behind, but he saw the woman helping Jax to his feet. Ermac managed to see that one of the captive civilians.

"Go! Get the others out of here!" The civilian told the two chosen warriors.

Somewhat reluctantly, they did as he said. It was likely also because Quan Chi had recovered, as had Reptile somewhat. As quickly as they had appeared, the two chosen warriors had vanished along with the four people they had rescued. Ermac shook his attacker off. The man scrambled back on his hands and knees, too scared to risk running away.

Ermac didn't understand it; the man was clearly a coward and yet he had bought time for the others to escape.

"You're nobility was wasted, you are still here." Ermac told him.

"I had a choice, I chose the right one." The man said, gulping down the knot in his throat.

Ermac clenched his fists; it must have been some cruel coincidence that he would meet a man like this after hearing what Jax had told him.

"You let them get away!" Reptile accused Ermac.

"And you were utterly useless, so shut your mouth before we brake it!" Ermac warned.

"Enough! The both of you remind me of children squawking over trivial matters." Quan Chi told them.

"This is no trivial matter." Ermac rebutted.

"Perhaps not, but it is not a total loss either. So a few got away, there is plenty of souls to go around, these Earthrealmers are stocked here like cattle. We have also learned that the chosen warriors are actively freeing captives. Their foolish heroics are predictable, and will be their undoing."

"So what now?" Reptile asked.

"Now we let the soldiers gather whatever people they can and repeat the process again. As many souls as needed will be harvested. The two of you may leave and return to Outworld if you desire."

"I'm hungry, I'm going to stick around for awhile." Reptile said before turning invisible and running off.

"We will return then..." Ermac said.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Quan Chi asked him.

Ermac stopped and slowly turned; he knew what Quan Chi meant. The man that had intervened in Ermac's fight still sat in place. Ermac glanced over Quan Chi, the man's look didn't make him think that he would allow him to leave without taking care of this. Ermac raised his hand and lifted the man into the air with his power. He whined and grunted in a panicking tone.

Ermac knew what he was supposed to do, what he was made to do. He had always known his place in the world, but now he couldn't help dwelling on it, turning it around in his head.

Ermac curled his hand into a fist and then yanked the man forward with his power. The civilian was impaled on Ermac's arm, reaching past his elbow and having Ermac's hand sticking out his back. He had died instantly, and his body rested against Ermac's. Ermac slid his arm out and let the body drop to the ground.

"Good." Quan Chi said deeply.

The sorcerer created a portal for Ermac to step through. Before he did, Ermac looked at the blood covering his hand. Never had he killed with such pensiveness before. Ermac stepped through the portal and was in Outworld momentarily. Upon his arrival, the souls within him starting fighting him, the voices in his head tried to shout over him. It was like he had Skarlet at his side again.

* * *

A red thong and loincloth, a red bra like top, a red mask, and long red boots hung on a branch next to a pool of murky water. Bracers and shoulder pads lay on the ground beneath it, along with four kunai and two knives that were still holstered and sheathed. In the water Skarlet waist deep. She had been standing that way for a few minutes, letting her lower body get used to the cold water made even colder by her extreme sensitivity. Mustering her courage, she started to dip herself more into the water. Her breath was shaky, and her slim belly quivered as it became submerged. She decided to get it over with quickly and dipped her breasts and shoulders into the water, now only her head was above. She opened her mouth to accommodate her breath, the cold rocked her. The water extended her feeling of touch to levels she didn't believe were possible. She felt the fish swimming nearly twenty feet away from her, their tales sending ripples towards. She felt like she was being hugged by the weight of the water, choked even because of the pressure on her throat.

After leaving the bandit homes, she had come across this stagnant water. She remembered the washing she got from the servants the last time she had been covered with blood. It was much better when she was doing it herself. She enjoyed this small freedom, and dipped her head below the water. Opening her eyes, she saw that the water wasn't as clear as she thought it was. Even with her supreme eyesight, she still had to focus to make things out on the bottom. She also thought that her hearing was compromised underwater, all she could hear was the water flooding her ears and swishing around her, deafening her. Instinctively she knew not to try and test her sense of smell.

Suddenly, something came over her and she accidentally swallowed some water. She quickly swam up and coughed the water up. She wiped her red hair from her eyes and looked around her. Nothing else had entered the area but she could feel this incredible desire. That throbbing sensation from when she was locked up came back. Skarlet walked out of the water and shivered from the stinging cold, but moved to gather her clothes and weapons. She walked while she dressed, feeling every blade of grass, every grain of sand, and every sharp rock on her toes and feet. She was a woman on a mission, her every instinct and personal desire agreed upon this.

* * *

Ermac sat down heavily and crossed his legs. He sat facing the soul well this time, instead of with his back to it. He stared into the green sea, like he was trying to watch the lives of every soul within it. This only seemed to aggravate the souls within him. Each one vied for his attention; with there being thousands within him, it was mentally exhausting. He had too much to think about, too much to distract him. The things that Jax had said, the children he had encountered, and just about everything to do with Skarlet. Ever since that woman had been created the small problems of controlling himself and his selves had become a major issue, to say nothing of what happened between her and the three tarkatans not long ago...

Shutting his eyes tightly, Ermac tried to regain absolute control again by meditating.

_Distractions, just distractions. She is a distraction._

* * *

_One hour later_

He barely moved, only his head swayed, and his shut eyes conveyed emotions. She wanted to see those glowing green eyes, but she didn't dare touch him. Skarlet lost track of time, she was drawn here and had crouched in front of Ermac ever since. She quietly sniffed him; he smelt too clean as always, but the scent of blood was on his clothes, and she savoured it. Listening to him breath, it sounded like his regular speech, like multiple people, and it was music to her.

This throbbing feeling was like a beating drum now. Skarlet slid her hand up her leg towards the spot where it seemed to be coming from. Her own touch there was pure pleasure. With her other hand she slowly grazed her fingers on his mask. It was hard, and a little cool, but unsatisfying. She slid her fingers up the mask to where Ermac's eye and brow was exposed. She barely touched it, just scraping him with her nail, but it was infinitely better than touching the mask. Ermac's eyes suddenly snapped open, immediately finding her red eyes. Both of their breaths caught onto their throats. This closeness was unbearable, though for unique and respectively different reasons.

"Skarlet, what are you doing here?" Ermac whispered.

She didn't say anything, just stared at him, looking him over. Ermac noticed that her eyes were wide and exuded extreme focus, a one track mind.

"Skarlet..."

Skarlet pounced on him, knocking him over. She straddled him and ran her hands up and down his torso, and grazing his neck. The feeling of him below her was amazing.

"What are you doing? You..." Ermac was interrupted when she leaned down against him, rubbing her head against his despite the hood.

"You should go..." He tried again, pushing his hand against her side.

Skarlet gave a pleasurable moan while she exhaled. Ermac tried pushing her off but all this did was excite her; even clothed his every touch pleasured her be it on her stomach, sides, arms, his legs against hers or his pelvis against hers...

"I don't..." Ermac said before he accidentally pushed against her breast with his hand.

Skarlet inhaled through her teeth and squeezed his sholder and arm, and pinched his hips harder between her legs. She leaned back up, sitting on her knees and still straddling him. Ermac couldn't help gawking at the incredibly beautiful woman that sat on him. He also couldn't deny that he was aroused by this, very aroused. The souls in him were like an agitated bee hive. They all screamed at him, but they screamed the same thing. Whatever this was, they wanted it. Ermac wanted it to.

Ermac rolled over and now he was on top. Skarlet's arousal didn't waiver in the slightest; she pulled at him and her hand moved to her personal regions. Confused and unsure of what was happening, Ermac reached down and undid his pants. His erection stuck out and, hesitantly, he moved to remove Skarle'ts thong. Skarlet bit her lip under her mask, she enjoyed him touching her hips and legs. Ermac pulled her thong halfway down her thighs and hesitated. He stared idly at Skarlet's body, neither of them had any experience in this. Skarlet had the instincts of a beast however, and she had a better innate acceptance and understanding of this.

She pushed herself towards him with her elbows, bringing her womanhood closer to his manhood. Ermac awkwardly shuffled closer to her and accidentally touched his erection to her inner thigh.

"Oh..." Skarlet moaned.

Ermac leaned down to her, framing her head with his elbows. They stared into each others eyes; red lost in green, green reflected in red.

"Please." Skarlet whispered to him.

Her voice made him blink. Another new feeling came over him, he was having a lot of them lately. He wanted to please her, and make her happy. Both were somewhat scared, but then it is said that the first time is always scary.

Ermac slid himself into her, only halfway at first. They both moaned and grunted in unison, and Ermac slid himself all the way in. A small whine came from Skarlet, and Ermac slid out and then back in again, not fully taking himself out. Skarlet felt a cozy warmth, the warmth from that one spot spread all over. She clenched her fingers and toes as Ermac's member moved in and out of her. She propped herself up on her elbows and and buried her head in the crook of his neck as he penetrated her faster and faster.

Ermac never experience something as pleasurable as this. He slid his erection in and out as fast as he could, then slowed down, and picked up the pace again. He placed his gloved hand on Skarlet's bare back so that he could hold her. He felt her back muscles flex with his every movement. Skarlet matched him blow for blow, she was now moving against him.

Skarlet wrapped one of her arms around the back of Ermac's neck and pulled him down. She now lay flat on her back with Ermac on top of her, she let him put his weight on her, and welcomed it. Ermac's hand was flattened between her back and the floor, but he used his other arm to support himself. Skarlet squealed and held herself against Ermac tightly and shut her eyes while gritting her teeth behind her mask. Ermac groaned with pleasurable exasperation; this was the final stretch. With a few more thrusts they climaxed, and both moaned loudly and breathed.

Ermac tilted his head to look at Skarlet. Her eyes were still shut, and sweat poured down her face. Actually, not just sweat, a few tears as well. Ermac sweated like pig, but he was far too unemotional to allow himself to shed some tears. He instead touched his forehead to Skarlet's.

It wasn't the most romantic of meetings; neither of them had gotten naked, they merely moved their undergarments. One of them had come hoping for this, the other had it drop in his lap and he found it to his liking.

* * *

_Bow chica bow wow lol. Please read, review, and enjoy._

_Update: Just needed to change Ermac saying 'No I don't have a phone' to 'No we don't have a phone'. Sorry if anyone thought it was a new chapter, that will come soon._


	8. Chivalry is Dead

The echoes of voices filled his head, and Ermac was lost to them. For the first time in his memory they all, or at least the most prominent ones were unified. Despite that, Ermac couldn't make sense of it. Happiness, lust...love. A slew of other emotions loosely related started to push to the surface. Humour, jealously, loss. Ermac was confused, but he started to let himself go. It felt so appealing to join the swarm...

A pang of Ermac's personality suddenly rose up like a bellowing whale breaching the surface of crashing waves. Ermac eyes snapped open, or had he not closed his eyes and was too distracted to realize it? Regardless, all he saw was Skarlet lying below him. Despite her mask she looked absolutely gratified. Her crimson red eyes did look at him quizzically however. Ermac realized that he was still just laying over her, still pressed against her, still inside her. He leaned up and pulled himself out of her, which made Skarlet twitch.

Ermac stood up while buckling his pants. He tried his best not to look at Skarlet but that was hard. He noticed that she was bleeding from her womanhood. That image alone, while insignificant to him personally, excited the other residents inside him. This time, flashes of memories that weren't his flew through his mind like a slideshow. Such things only used to happen when he was still an adolescent, in terms of his existence because he had never actually been a child. He hadn't fully mastered his powers and himself, nor his selves, but the idea that such visions could afflict him now was inconceivable until now.

The thoughts and visions were from memories that were both bad and good, at least to the souls that had experienced them. Thoughts of couples having intercourse for the first time, and the ecstasy and pleasure, or lack thereof that accompanied it. On the flip side, thoughts of assault and rape, from the perspectives of both parties, and the hurt and disgust, and the anger, fear, hatred...

Ermac's hand went to his head as he cringed. He couldn't believe how stupid he was, this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. Skarlet had stood up and pulled up her thong and loin cloth, making her appearance slightly less scandalous; she could be more so only if she were naked. She stood silent, waiting by the looks of it. She looked as she always did; poised and ready to act at a moment's notice.

Ermac looked away from her. He hated this; Skarlet was just staring and he didn't know what to do. For the first time ever, he cared about awkwardness. Only Skarlet has ever made him do that.

"You, maybe you should...go." Ermac told her.

Despite not being a skilled conversationalist, even Ermac knew that was probably rude, considering what had happened. Normally he wouldn't give a damn, but once again, Skarlet had this effect on him. He was beyond grateful to whoever was responsible for Skarlet simply turning to leave without a word.

Ermac didn't watch her leave, the sight of her bare back, bottom, and blood red hair would only push him farther into the swarm. The clatter of her heels alone was like a nail being hammered into his skull with every step.

* * *

Skarlet walked back to her cell in the dungeon like how a cat comes back home from roaming the streets. She slid underneath the cell door in blood form and took her usual spot in the centre of the room. She sat on her knees as if she were still chained up.

Skarlet was able to think more clearly, less like an animal. Those urges that had practically dragged her to Ermac had been satiated.

For now.

* * *

_This is a really short chapter, but I feel like I ended the previous one poorly and think that going further right now would be a bad idea and screw up the flow. Next chapter will be a fresh start._


	9. Acceptance

The night was not kind to Ermac. He wasn't really one for sleep to begin with but tonight even the calm he got from quiet meditation eluded him, no matter how hard he concentrated. The memory of what happened only hours ago mercilessly haunted him.

He gritted his teeth beneath his mask and grumbled with anger, annoyance, and frustration. The memory clawed at him, angered him, depressed him, excited him, all at once. He kept going back to it over and over again. He was baffled, and infuriated, by his weakness. On the other hand, 'they' wanted her, 'they' needed her. This infected Ermac. He started to want her, and need her, and he knew it.

* * *

Atop a building located in the centre of the city where the majority of the Outworld invasion had taken place, Shao Kahn stood with one foot planted on the edge while staring out across the skyline. He resembled a great gargoyle that could sometimes be found built into the stonework of older buildings. Even without the wings, Shao Kahn was still the embodiment of what those statues often inspired and represented; fear, death and destruction.

He shifted his gaze to the cemetery nearby, and the massive swirling soulnado that sprouted from it. He smiled thinly but with self satisfaction; the soulnado would be ready in a few hours and his conquest of Earthrealm would finally be completed. In times long past, Shao Kahn had taken over realms with sheer military might and tactics. It was simple enough on paper, but grand in use. Decimate the invaded realm's armies, subvert whatever government happened to be in place (he had encounter everything ranging from dictatorships to tribal savagery), and dominate the populatin so that they practically begged to join the empire. It was a brutal and satisfying process, but also long and costly. This new process, or at least new relative to the age of his rule, was much more efficient. Once enough souls from the invaded realm had been sacrificed, the soulnado could be used to steal and enslave the souls of all the beings that inhabited the realm.

He turned his attention to the sky's far off in the distance when he noticed lightning bolts suddenly striking down from the sky. He bared a toothy scowl now because he knew exactly what this meant.

"Raiden." Shao Kahn grumbled.

"Is something wrong my emperor?" A woman purred behind him.

Shao Kahn stood to his full height and turned to the woman behind him, his resurrected 'queen' Sindel. Shang Tsung also stood quietly away from them, near the Outworld portal.

"Of course not my queen. In just hours my conquest of this world will finally be complete. Earthrealm's doom has come, and Raiden rushes to his own as we speak."

"He will not be alone, surely." Sindel told him.

"I know. He will have that ant Liu Kang to fight his battles, among others...including Kitana."

Sindel's cheek twitched slightly, but her face stayed content nonetheless.

"If she will not see reason, then she will die." Sindel said.

"Painfully," Shao Kahn assured, "Shang Tsung!"

"Yes emperor?"

"I want no surprises. Assemble my warriors here, all of them."

"Even Skarlet?"

"Especially Skarlet."

* * *

Ermac never liked having a servant come talk to him, and he was already in a foul mood as it is, but once the servant informed him that Shang Tsung was assembling all the elite fighters at the behest of Shao Kahn his attitude became all business. He quickly walked to the throne room, where the portal to Earthrealm was located, and saw the backs of Reptile and what looked to be the smuggler Kano stepping through the portal. Shang Tsung stood next to the portal, apparently waiting for everyone to arrive and step through.

Ermac silently started making his way to the portal when he suddenly had the urge to look behind him. A very powerful urge. Ermac sighed and closed his eyes as he looked back. Skarlet was confidently walking towards him. The sight of her excited the voices in his head to the point that they screamed, and as she got closer he wanted to reach out and touch her...

She walked right past him, with nothing more than a glance that simply confirmed that she had seen him. This was the second time Ermac had found himself in this position, he may have been standing in this exact spot when it happened. He had mixed feelings about it; on the one hand it catered exactly to what he wanted, to forget that their little act had ever happened, to forget that since she had come into the picture he was growing a little more insane by the day. On the other hand of that, he was longing for her, scared of and hopeful for her attention, and angered by her lack there off.

"Something wrong Ermac?" He heard Shang Tsung ask.

Ermac quickly snapped himself out of his introversion and briskly stepped up to the portal. To his dismay, or delight, or probably both, Skarlet was still standing just short of stepping through the portal. Ermac could feel her uneasiness, which frustrated him.

"We didn't think the emperor would be having you along for a mission any time soon." Ermac told Skarlet, not really seeing bluntness or insensitivity in his words.

"And why is that?" Skarlet replied with some attitude, evidently she did see the insensitivity in Ermac's words.

"We just...um..." Ermac was taken aback and at a loss for words.

"Now now children, I'm sure the emperor has forgiven the both of you for that little mishap." Shang Tsung said in a deliberately mocking tone.

"Not that he should have." Baraka grumbled angrily from behind.

The tarkatan roughly shoved his way past Ermac and Skarlet, taking his time to growl at the latter before he stepped through the portal.

"We meant no offence Skarlet." Ermac insisted.

Skarlet merely grunted and looked away from him. Ermac was now as uneasy as she was, but for different reasons. He thought he may have annoyed or hurt Skarlet with his comment, and to his surprise and chagrin something in him refused to let him dismiss it. In truth, while he really didn't mean it offensively, he didn't know Skarlet was smart enough or at least skilled enough in socializing and critical thinking to notice and be offended. The realization was odd for him, and intriguing.

"My my, like an old married couple you two are." Shang Tsung teased.

In reality, the sorcerer searched their expressions for signs of a reaction. It wasn't easy considering they both wore masks, and Ermac a hood on top of that. As the emperor's two personal fighters stepped through the portal, Shang Tsung conceded to the fact that his suspicions and prodding mind would need to wait until after Raiden's chosen were defeated and Earthrealm was under the banner of Outworld.

* * *

Both Ermac and Skarlet were surprised to see the state of Earthrealm now. The reddish skies had dark clouds encroaching upon their location atop the roof of the unknown building. The surrounding buildings were even more destroyed than before. If Earthrealm were a corpse, then the architecture would be it's decaying flesh.

Reptile, Kano, Baraka, and Mileena as well were assembled on the rooftop with Ermac and Skarlet. The emperor was not leaving anything to chance evidently, because not only did he have all his warriors here, but the two Lin Kuei cyborgs Sektor and Cyrax. The yellow and slightly larger red machine men stood stoic and silent, but menacing at the same time.

Ermac wasn't used to seeing this many of Shao Kahn's enforcers at once, the emperor rarely needed to use such excessive force. Skarlet could barely keep herself from fidgeting. She could hear the slight hissing Reptile made while he breathed, the sight of Cyrax and Sektor unnerved her because she couldn't read them, the scent of years of bloody battles on Baraka invaded her nose; simply put there were many powerful people here, threats and rivals.

"Attention!" Shao Kahn's voice boomed.

That one command from the emperor resonated into Skarlet and Ermac's beings. Skarlet became calm and poised, but like a holstered sword, deadly all the same and even more so in the hands of a master. Ermac focused back into an elite agent state, like he was used to being.

"For hundreds and thousands of years I have desired this realm as the next piece of my eternal empire. For hundreds and thousands of years I have been restrained by the rules of Mortal Kombat put in place by the elder gods. For hundreds and thousands of years I have been denied what is mine! But now I have beaten Mortal Kombat, and the elder gods. I have beaten Earthrealm!" Shao Kahn raised his fists into the air for emphasis.

Skarlet took deep and silent breaths, and her chest expanded visibly with each inhale. Shao Kahn's passion and energy invigorated her in ways she couldn't explain, but she couldn't question it either. Not even if she wanted to.

"Only one thing remains; a miserable little god and his band of insects. They are on their way here now, I am certain of it. This is my gift to you for all your hard work," Shao kahn bared a toothy, devilish grin, "Rip them apart!"

An assortment of low chuckles, whispers of deeds, and growls sounded off from the group. Baraka, Kano, and Mileena moved towards the stairs so that they could leave the roof. Reptile leapt from the roof and turned invisible in mid air, and the dust being stirred up on the roof of the adjacent building was the proof of his landing. Cyrax and Sektor both activated their thrusters and took off through the air. Sindel seemed content to remain by Shao Kahn's side.

"I want you two to remain close by." Shao Kahn said to Skarlet and Ermac.

"As you command emperor." Both the homemade warriors said.

"I will not tolerate anymore...'slip ups' from either of you." Shao Kahn added.

Ermac picked up on what Kahn was insinuating immediately. he noticed out of the corner of his eye Skarlet's fist and back flex slightly; she must have knew the emperor's meaning as well. There was more to Skarlet's intellect than he thought it seems; whether this was a new phenomenon or if it was just buried potential this whole time he did not know. He didn't care enough to think more about it when he realized he was thinking too much about Skarlet; a dangerous habit that was getting harder to kick.

Once Ermac was sure he had Shao Kahn's permission to leave he vaulted over the edge of the building. It was a fast ten story drop. When he was just feet from the ground Ermac used his powers to create a telekinetic shock absorber around his body. The impact cracked the concrete and created a gust of air that nudged cars debris over, but Ermac was fine.

After doing a quick survey of his surroundings; broken glass and concrete, vehicles, paper, and bodies, Ermac followed the trail of death and destruction away from Shao Kahn's building.

* * *

Ermac grumbled to himself while softly rubbing his head. He had been walking around and patrolling the area for over an hour now and had encountered nobody. Not one of Raiden's warriors, not even a survivor of the invasion. On the inside he was kicking himself for this, but he needed a distraction from his distraction. All he could think about was Skarlet this and Skarlet that. He couldn't help but dwell on things such as their first fight, and the first time he heard her voice, and the first time they had laid together...

He suddenly turned around with a small amount of his power gathering in his hand. He carefully scanned the area with his eyes and ears, and confirmed that he was alone a few moments later. Despite that, he could not shake the feeling that he was being watched.

That small shift in his train of thought quickly derailed again. It was almost like that time when Skarlet was being beaten by the three tarkatans and he had sensed, and was pulled into a state of murderous fury by it. While the effect on him right now wasn't nearly as spectacular; he could best describe himself as feeling very anxious right now, the idea that Skarlet could make him like this even under these circumstances frightened him.

He noticed the silhouette of something moving from inside the building to his right; something humanoid. Assuming the worst, Ermac shot a bolt of his telekinetic power from each hand towards it. The blasts shattered the entire glass front of the building and Ermac was charging through the falling shards before they all hit the ground.

With his power holding steady in both hands Ermac slowly searched for the person, or whatever it was, that he had seen. He was in the lobby of what must have been the building of a very wealthy company. The floors and pillars supporting the ceiling were covered in black marbled granite. Hung up on the walls were numerous examples of art that he didn't understand or care for. The plants placed near the benches and entrance had long succumbed to a lack of water. Their shrivelled up and drooping appearance gave the clean and professional lobby a small hint of the world outside.

Ermac was still searching for signs of life. He couldn't find any but he refused to believe that he was just being jumpy and was seeing things. Just when it looked like that might just be the case, he stepped in a puddle, a red puddle of blood. He barely had time to lift his foot out before the blood shifted on the ground and gathered together like it were alive. The blood piled on top of itself and started rising from the ground. It started to expand and take shape. It started to grow arms, legs, a torso, and finally a head topped with blood red hair with black streaks. Skarlet slowly opened her eyes, and eyelids only came up halfway, leaving her red irises slightly obscured.

Ermac's powers calmed themselves, but he realized that it may not have been entirely by his own doing, seeing as how his fists were still clenched and shaking. He mouth got dry and his breathing became audible as Skarlet wordlessly approached him.

"Did you encounter any of Raiden's warriors?" Ermac asked awkwardly.

"No." Skarlet replied simply.

"Well, neither have we. Perhaps we should start searching by..." Ermac was abruptly cut off when Skarlet reached for him.

"Stop it!" Ermac demanded.

"Why?" Skarlet asked with genuine confusion.

"What do you mean why? This isn't...we can't do this."

"But we already did." Skarlet reminded casually.

"We know but that was a mistake."

Skarlet stopped advancing on him and looked into his eyes quizzically.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I upset you?" She asked him.

It was almost exactly the same thing she had asked him when she had killed the defenceless man in the subway against his wishes. Simple questions they were, but he remembered that he hadn't given her the answer that she was asking for; what did he think. He remembered that he told her that his opinion was irrelevant and that only Shao Kahn's desires were important, but he believed that she had truly desired his thoughts. He thought her question was oddly...sweet.

"We don't know." Ermac told her truthfully.

Skarlet tilted her head and looked confused. Once more, she approached him and reached out to him. This time, he let her. Her fingers grazed his forearm, and he could feel her taking the time to feel him. She enjoyed feeling him, and Ermac finally admitted this to himself, he enjoyed it as well. He enjoyed it so much in fact that he pushed his body against hers, forcing her back onto one of the pillars. They both had the same idea apparently because Skarlet had pulled her thong and loincloth down enough for Ermac to access before his pants were open. They both still had all their clothes on, once again they hadn't bothered with things such as foreplay. Skarlet stood with her back against the cool marble pillar and Ermac was hovering off of her, their bodies were dangerously close to touching.

Ermac hesitated for a moment, thinking over things in his head. He was still nervous, but unlike last time, he felt more sure of himself. This time, he was deciding to go along with it, not just along for the ride. He stared into Skarlet's red eyes once more before looking down at both of their genitalia. He used one of his hands, still gloved, to guide himself into her. Skarlet moaned, sounding like she was taking in every part of him that slid inside of her. When he was sure he was properly anchored, Ermac kept one hand on the pillar next to Skarlet's head and the other on her side. Skarlet savoured the feel of his hand on her ribs.

Ermac started off with slow but full thrusts. He inserted himself as far as he could, pushing Skarlet back more onto the pillar, and then pulled out, but never all the way so that he wouldn't need to clumsily reposition himself. Skarlet was mostly immobilized between Ermac's hips and the pillar behind her, except for her head. She rocked her head back and forth, almost in tune with the Ermac's thrusts. Ermac watched her hair bounce and shake, he found her hair pleasing. Some far off mind in him told him to touch her hair, to stroke it. His hand on the pillar moved closer to her ponytail, but he forced himself to stop. He didn't want this to become complicated, he wanted it to stay simple. It had to stay simple.

Skarlet apparently wanted to fight back. She moved her body against his, sometimes thrusting herself upon him. Ermac now put both his hands on her sides and pushed her harder against the wall. Skarlet wrapped her arms tightly around the back of his neck and pulled him forward to her. Ermac rested his forehead against the pillar while he continued to fuck Skarlet faster. After a few more thrusts they climaxed. Skarlet braced herself against the pillar and Ermac did the same. They remained in the same climaxed position for a few minutes, both taking in something. Skarlet was happily taking in Ermac's scent, sound, sight, and feeling. She still clung to him tightly with her back against the pillar. Ermac stood with his forehead still propped up against pillar, but he had since dropped his hands from Skarlet's sides. He looked like he had fallen asleep while standing up. He looked like he was in a state of disbelief.

He had wanted Skarlet. He had gotten her. He had liked it.

* * *

_It's been awhile since my last update, I had to really force this one out. I'm not ashamed to say that I've got writer's block that could damn up Niagara falls. Please leave a review if you've got any feedback or ideas. Next chapter will most likely be Skarlet centric since this was almost entirely from Ermac's perspective. Read, review, and enjoy._


	10. Duty

Skarlet opened her eyes after what felt like an eternity. Ermac's forehead rested against her's, and his hood draped over his head made it harder for her to look away from him. The glow of his eyes were shut tight behind his eyelids, his hands still rested on her bare ribs, squeezing slightly. He was still inside her, she felt the aftershock in her thighs and tummy, even her toes and fingers tingled. She heard his heavy breathing trying to escape his mask. Without thinking her lips parted behind her own mask and she tilted her head slightly...

Ermac's eyes suddenly opened the moment she moved her head. He roughly pushed her face away with his hand and then pulled out of her. Skarlet gasped at this sudden sensation. She stayed leaning against the pillar for a few moments more while Ermac fixed his pants. Skarlet closed her mouth and blinked dumbly before she pulled her thong back over her womanhood. Ermac rubbed his eyes and then started walking towards the doors. Skarlet wasn't much for conversation before, she didn't have anything to talk about nor was she well versed in chit chat, but she was compelled to speak at this point.

"What now?" She asked after Ermac.

"We will make our rounds until the emperor summons us back." Ermac said.

Skarlet shrugged and quickly joined Ermac in the war torn street. They had walked only a few steps before Ermac turned to her curiously.

"What are you doing?" Ermac asked.

"Making our rounds, like you said."

"We will make our rounds..."

"I know, I'm doing as you said." Skarlet said with some confused frustration.

Ermac blinked her into further agitation.

"Why are you so confused?" Skarlet asked.

"We, are not the confused ones. We, will make our rounds back. You, can go back to doing whatever you were doing." Ermac turned away and started walking again.

Skarlet tried to wrap her head around his words. She remembered that Ermac always said we when others would say I, but she thought nothing of it until know. Skarlet jogged to catch up to him.

"I was finding you." She told him.

Ermac shot her a look but didn't slow his pace.

"That wasn't what you were instructed to do Skarlet."

"I know, but the emperor hasn't done anything to me about it, nothing bad has happened. I...liked it." Skarlet told him.

Ermac grunted lowly, he didn't sound pleased.

"Did you?" Skarlet asked.

Ermac didn't answer.

"Well, did you?" Skarlet pressed.

Ermac remained in strained silence.

"Hey, I asked..."

Ermac stopped in his tracks and turned a deathly look upon her. Skarlet's animalistic side instinctively told her to be slightly submissive but tense and prepared for a confrontation, maybe even inviting one. Her slowly developing humanity kept her curious above all.

"Yes." Ermac told her.

Ermac didn't sound particularly happy, but the knowledge that he had indeed enjoyed their meetings made Skarlet smile slightly.

"Good." Skarlet answered, sounding not quite as dispirited as Ermac, but somehwat sharing his characteristic impassiveness.

Skarlet silently followed Ermac for several blocks. She caught his prolonged glances at the wreckage around them. Skarlet followed his looks to cars ripped open, smashed windows, and crumbling buildings. She felt only her inborn desires for fighting and destruction being teased.

Suddenly, her skin started to tickle.

"Do you feel that?" She asked.

"Feel what?" Ermac responded.

Skarlet curled her fingers and toes in and out and fidgeted. This sudden tingling sensation invaded her whole super-humanly sensitive body; right down to the tips of her hair. Her pulse quickened, her blood flowed faster, and her hands went to her knives.

Just then within a thousandth of a second, she noticed a white light and her whole body jumped to attention. Lightning rained down around them on rooftops and on the ground obscured by buildings. A moment later when the light show had dimmed to nothing, Skarlet and Ermac both felt an overwhelming feeling come over them. Skarlet's instincts made her start running. She couldn't explain it, she just ran as fast as she could, which was really fast. Ermac had to hover after her to keep up, because he also had this same compulsion, but he knew where it came from. Shao Kahn.

* * *

Shao Kahn sat in his newly made throne staring intently with his eyes but almost bored with his body staring at the door of the rooftop access way. He tilted his helmeted head onto his fist, tapping the skull crown with his beefy finger. Sindel stood silently and obediently at his side.

Shao Kahn had acute hearing despite his helmet, and he heard the rapid creaks of the rickety steps behind the door as something move up them. His tapping upon his helmet got more forceful, and a thin grin spread across his lips. He had seen the lightning from minutes ago of course. He knew that Raiden and his warriors were making their final, desperate move. He also knew who was on their way up those stairs. Once that person arrived, this would longer just be the climatic end to an invasion. This would be his chance to avenge his defeat.

The door was suddenly kicked open, it's splinters slid across the rooftop. Shao Kahn now bared his teeth at the new arrival; Liu Kang. The monk approached Kahn and Sindel with masked killer intent. Sindel made a move to confront him, but Shao Kahn waved her down and stood up himself.

"I've been waiting for you little one. I was starting to get bored, so I had to entertain myself." Shao Kahn gestured to the destroyed city around him.

"I stopped you once Shao Kahn and I will do so again. Earthrealm will never be yours!"

"Fool, it is already mine. Like every other world that I have taken, it was mine the moment I desired it! Once the soulnado is fully powered I will have leashed every living on earth like the animals they are. Even your exalted thunder god Raiden will bow to me. But not you, do you know why?" Shao Kahn's voice suddenly turned very, very dangerous.

Liu Kang took a battle stance and fiery embers gathered around his fists.

"It is because I am going to crush your heart in my hand, and torture your soul for my own amusement for the millennia to come!"

"Big talk from a big wounded ego. Come and try it coward!"

* * *

Skarlet and Ermac had traversed a considerable distance in a short amount of time. The building that Shao Kahn stood atop of wasn't far now. The two of them hadn't said a word to each other since the compulsion to return to Shao Kahn overtook them; they were perfectly programmed. They only stopped when they came upon what looked to be the ending of a fight.

Standing in the middle of a street was the semi-cybernetic smuggled Kano, a man Skarlet had never met until today, and one which Ermac rarely had dealings with. A blond woman sat on her knees, beaten and bloody at his feet. Kano laughed heartily at his handiwork. He grinned widely when he noticed Ermac and Skarlet.

"Well hello there mates! We've got some visitors it would seem, and I was just making Sonya here feel welcome!" Kano said before he kicked Sonya onto all fours.

"You're, one hell of a host." Sonya said sarcastically.

"What can I say? Momma taught me my manners." Kano said while grabbing Sonya's ponytail and yanking her up.

"I also know how to treat a lady," Kano then pulled one of his knives from his boot, "and bitches!"

Skarlet anticipated Sonya's death. The thought of the knife cutting open her throat and her blood pouring down her neck and her barely covered breasts excited her; she could feel it herself just from the thought alone. Ermac on the other hand refused to take any enjoyment in this. He needed to get to Shao Kahn, that is what was going through his head; that, and he didn't find this sadism particularly enjoyable. Before Kano could finish Sonya off though, a large chunk of concrete went flying towards him from behind. Kano managed to dodge, though with little finesse. He had fallen down and before he could get up someone was lifting him by his leg.

"Your mother would be disgusted with you." Jax spat at him.

Jax smashed Kano around like he were a doll before throwing the smuggler at Skarlet and Ermac. It would have been a simple matter for them to catch him, but they had no such desire and merely moved out of the way, letting Kano collide with a van behind them. Kano cursed loudly and sounded like he was having issues getting up, but Skarlet and Ermac just prepared for battle.

"You okay?" Jax asked Sonya.

"I am now. Which one you want?" Sonya asked.

"I've got a score to settle with Ermac." Jax said.

"Fine, I've got the skimpy red head." Sonya said.

Skarlet titled her head at the comment. She inferred red head was addressed to her, but she didn't know what skimpy meant. She dismissed it and ran towards Sonya. Sonya leaned back and pushed off the ground with her hands, launching herself high into the air. Skarlet was taken by surprise by this quick attack and Sonya's heeled boot collided with her chest. The impact knocked her down, leaving her winded, and probably would have caved in the chest of a weaker being. Sonya jumped in the air and tried to land on Skarlet, but she rolled out of the way and got to her feet.

Skarlet dashed forward on a trail of blood. Sonya tackled into her midsection and they both fell down into the blood left behind, making it splash all over them. Sonya postured up and punched Skarlet several times in the face. Skarlet didn't expect this kind of brutality from this woman, and now it brought out her own. Skarlet placed one of her hands in the bloody mess left behind by her previous attack. She soaked the blood up like a sponge, and the power that the expelled blood usually spread across her whole body was now focused into her arm. Skarlet could feel the veins in her forearm and bicep expand with the sudden increase in blood pressure. Sonya's fist smashed into Skarlet's mouth once more, and she bared her teeth behind mask. She roared and smashed her empowered fist into Sonya's jaw.

The punch stunned Sonya momentarily, evident by her just sitting on top of Skarlet. Skarlet bucked her hips and was able to roll over onto Sonya now. Skarlet drew one of her knives and pulled it across Sonya's exposed belly, causing the blood to drip out. Sonya fought from underneath her but Skarlet planted one of her knees onto Sonya's stomach. This not only irritated Sonya's wound, but allowed Skarlet to absorb her blood through her skin. Skarlet raised her knife and tried to stab Sonya through her eye, and Sonya barely managed to use her forearm to stop it. Skarlet growled and applied more force, but Sonya was quite strong and was able to hold her back. The more Sonya bled however, the stronger Skarlet got and the closer the knife came.

Sonya gritted her teeth and couldn't help staring at the razor sharp knife that was dangerously close to blinding her, and then some. She desperately searched her pocket for the pellets she kept. She grabbed a handful of them and crashed them in her hand. She brought it to her mouth and blew the dust into Skarlet's face. The powder was a mixture of the extract from several species of hot peppers in addition to synthetic riot control substances. It would pain the eyes, skin, taste buds and sinuses of a normal person; it was pure agony for Skarlet's senses.

Skarlet clawed at her face, even dropping her knife. Her animalistic side drove her into a frenzy; she wanted Sonya dead.

"How'd that taste bitch!" Sonya taunted.

Skarlet pulled her mask down to make her breathing easier, but proceeded to tear off her mask and scarf completely to get rid of the lingering odour. Her whole body protested at the stinging sensation left on her lips and in her eyes.

"Your blood will wash the taste away." Skarlet replied.

Before she could make a move, her attention was shifted to the scent of burnt flesh, something she had smelt before. Her acute eyes noticed something approaching them extremely quickly. Anticipating what was coming, Skarlet melted into a pool of blood to avoid being decapitated by Kabal's sword speeding by. She rematerialized away from them. Kabal brandished both his swords and stood alongside Sonya. Before she could engage them, Skarlet noticed Ermac being beaten by Jax. Like how a cat focuses on it's prey before it's pounces, Skarlet's focus shifted completely to the large man. She teleported into the air, making blood rain down as she fell onto Jax's back, stabbing her knives into his back. She anchored herself onto him and once the blood fell onto her, she attacked him like rabid animal defending it's kin. Jax flailed around trying to shake her off.

"Die, die, die!" Skarlet yelled.

"Get the hell off of me!" Jax yelled.

Ermac recovered and gathered a massive amount of telekinetic energy in his palm.

"Skarlet!" Ermac signaled.

Skarlet planted her feet on Jax's shoulders and kicked off of him. She somersaulted gracefully through the air and landed next to Ermac while Jax was knocked forward towards Ermac's palm. Ermac thrusted his palm into Jax's midsection and the energy blasted him away into a wall. Skarlet was grinning without even realizing it; she revelled in her joint attack with Ermac. Fighting alongside Ermac made fighting better in every single way.

Jax picked himself up off the ground and joined Sonya and Kabal. Kano also finally managed to get to his feet, albeit he still cradled his back in pain.

"It's a good thing you showed up Kabal, these guys are tough." Sonya said.

"I've got bad news; something a lot tougher was following me."

Skarlet heard the sounds of jets first, but everyone present noticed it soon enough. A flying man zoomed through the air like a hawk circling a field mouse. Through his visor Sektor was able to identify three friendlies and three enemies. Sektor decreased his thruster output so that he was merely hovering, albeit thirty feet in the air.

"Enemies sighted, proceeding to terminate with extreme prejudice. Assessment of collateral damage deems risk of using heavy weaponry...acceptable."

The chest launcher opened and Sektor let lose a volley of missiles. They came screaming towards the ground. Friends and foes alike had to take cover from the explosions and shrapnel. The airbursts, when they hit her, made Skarlet feel all her blood, organs, and bones being shoved while the pieces of almost microscopic concrete poked at her like needles.

"Hey! Watch where you are shooting you big bucket of bolts!" Kano yelled from behind cover.

Sektor merely laughed in his deep and robotic voice, clearly retaining his penchant for destruction and explosions. The red cyborg launched another larger volley of rockets. Ermac created a green dome of protective energy around himself and Skarlet; and Kano because he dived underneath it in time. The explosions strained Ermac's focus, but he managed to keep the barrier up.

"Anyone got any ideas? Do it now before we're blown to bits!" Jax said.

"Just a crazy one..." Kabal said.

Kabal ran at super speed towards a building. He jumped and planted his feet on the wall and then ran at super speed again, scaling it. Once he reached roughly three stories, he backflipped off and soared through the air. He twisted and pulled both his hook swords from his back and used them to latch onto Sektor. The both of them dipped because Sektor's thrusters couldn't handle the extra weight. Sektor thrashed Kabal around but he managed to hold on.

"I could use an extra pair of hands up here!" Kabal shouted.

"And I could use a boost." Sonya told Jax.

Jax knodded and cupped his hands. Sonya placed her foot in them and Jax through her into the air, with Sonya jumping just before leaving his hands. This launched her high enough into the air grab onto Sektor as well. The cyborg came crashing to the ground with his two passengers. Sektor created a burst of air from his thrusters that blasted the two of them off of him.

"Back up required." Sektor stated.

Suddely a pair of yellow legs, a yellow torso, arm, and finally head came flying and assembled before them. Cyrax ran at Jax and jumped into the air. His second arm flew in attached to it's socket with his buzzaxe attachment spinning. Cyrax smashed his axe into Jax's raised arms. Sparks and a terrible screeching sound came from the clash.

"Your arms are made of a material too dense to cut through..." Cyrax stated.

"Damn right they are!" Jax boasted back.

"Alternative attack needed."

Cyrax's chest opened to reveal his glowing green core. Energy shot forth from it and wrapped around Jax in a net, immobilizing him. Kabal and Sonya tried to aid him but had to take cover from Sektor's dual flamethrowers. Sektor tilted his head to Skarlet, Ermac, and Kano.

"The situation is controlled here, revert back to your previous objectives." Sektor ordered them.

Skarlet wanted to finish off all three of the chosen warriors, but that compulsion to return to Shao Kahn still nagged at her, and the cyborgs did seem to have things taken care of here.

"Come Skarlet, Sektor is right." Ermac told her.

"If its all the same to you mate, I think I'll hang out with the tin men." Kano said, but Ermac and Skarlet ignored him.

They reached the base of Shao Kahn's building in minutes and could hear the sounds of fighting from above.

"We need to find the stairs..." Skarlet said.

"No time." Ermac interrupted.

Ermac grabbed her arm and started levitating the both of them upwards. They were rising quickly, but Skarlet could see things happening on the inside of the building. She saw Baraka pitting his strength against a large tribal looking man, and one floor above that was Reptile, who's agility was being outmatched by a grey ninja that vanished into smoke. If these were the chosen warriors fighting Shao Kahn's enforcer's, then who was facing the emperor himself?

"Get ready." Ermac told her in a strained voice.

Skarlet looked up to see the edge of the roof approaching. Ermac dropped her off and landed himself to find the roof very crowded. Skarlet saw Mileena fighting with a dark skinned woman dressed in green, Sindel was fighting a woman dressed in blue, and Shao Kahn was fighting a man in red pants with a red head band. Shao Kahn kicked Liu Kang away and noticed the two of them.

"Now 'champion', you will die. Skarlet, Ermac, destroy him!" Kahn ordered.

Liu Kang tried to attack Kahn again, but Ermac gripped him in his power and slammed him into the ground. Skarlet ran at him with one of her knives drawn.

"Hold Liu Kang!" Kitana shouted.

She threw one of her fans at Ermac. It hit him with enough force to knock him back, not to mention cut him deeply and make him lose his grip on Liu Kang. The shaolin monk rolled out of the way of Skarlet's downward strike and swept his leg out, knocking her down. Instead of attacking her, he let Skarlet get to her feet.

"And who might you be?" Liu Kang asked.

"Skarlet." She answered simply but intently.

"I see, you're the blood monster. I've heard about you."

"Then you should know what's going to happen next!"

Skarlet attempted a flurry of quick slashes with her knife. Liu Kang dodged all of them but was nicked on the arm. Skarlet wiped the blood from her knife and rubbed it on her lips. Her eyes flared at the power she felt from this man's blood. She wanted more. Her hairs stood on end when Ermac came to stand beside her.

"We will take him together." Ermac told her.

Before they could attack, Skarlet felt a sudden chill in the air. Looking back, she saw a layer of ice bridging the considerable gap between the this roof and the building across the street. A man dressed in blue came sliding across it and flipped onto the gravel covered roof.

"Sub Zero, I'm glad you could make it." Liu Kang greeted.

"Sorry I couldn't be here sooner. Which one is mine?"

Ermac shot a bolt of energy at Sub Zero, but he easily jumped over it.

"Alright then." Sub Zero stated calmly.

Ermac engaged Sub Zero and Skarlet pressed her attack on Liu Kang. Despite her belief that all Earthrealmers were weak, Liu Kang was faster, stronger, and tougher than anyone she had fought with the exception of the emperor. She felt the emperor's gaze upon her. Amidst all these fighters she didn't feel like an animal, she felt like a warrior, and she was losing! Enraged, she pulled all of her kunai from her thigh and threw them at Liu Kang, running fast enough to follow behind them with her knife poised to deliver a killing blow. Liu Kang expertly blocked the kunai with his gauntlets but left himself open to Skarlet's attack. Skarlet grinned in anticipation of her hand going hilt deep into Liu Kang's chest and spilling his blood, but instead he vanished in a fireball. He reappeared behind Skarlet to deliver a crippling blow to her back. Skarlet coughed up her own blood as she fell to her knees.

"You are beaten." Liu Kang stated.

"Don't touch her!" Ermac warned.

Before he could move to help, Sub Zero froze his feet in place. Sindel noticed the disadvantages piling up.

"Enough of this!" She said before taking a deep breath and letting loose a continuous, terribly loud scream.

The attack was indiscriminate and assaulted everyone present. Shao Kahn powered through it and created a green energy spear in his hand. He saw Ermac unable to struggle against his bonds due to the noise. He then looked at Skarlet, who was curled up in the fetal position, no doubt more tortured by the sound than anyone else. She looked at him almost pleadingly, begging for his forgiveness and pardon. Shao Kahn scowled at her, and her new expression was that of a shattered spirit. Finally, he looked to Liu Kang, also stunned by the noise. Kahn couldn't hear his growl over the noise, but he felt it. He tossed the spear at Liu Kang and it penetrated his chest.

Kitana's heart skipped a beat when she saw Liu Kang fall. She forced herself to ignore the sound wave and created an updraft that lifted Sindel into the air.

"Sorry mother." She whispered.

Kitana jumped, flipped in the air, and brought her outstretched leg down across Sindel's head. The former Edenian queen spun and hit the ground, unconscious. With the screaming over, everyone began to regain their composure.

"Now is that anyway to treat your mother?" Shao Kahn taunted.

"Shut up you bastard!" Kitana yelled.

She attempted to cut him open with one of her fans but he caught her hand and then grabbed her neck in his large hand.

"I think I've wanted to do this for a long time now." Shao Kahn told her.

"You're...going to have to keep on waiting!" Liu Kang proclaimed.

The shaolin monk came from behind and delivered a devastating punch into Shao Kahn's gut. He hadn't put as much power into it as when he had first fought Shao Kahn, but it still penetrated into him. Shao Kahn gasped and dropped Kitana. He didn't have a chance to retaliate because Liu Kang now got into a rhythm of putting him off balance before deliver devastating punches and kicks that rocked him every time. Skarlet saw Shao Kahn being mercilessly beaten and her instincts took over; protect the emperor. She ignored her injured back and limped towards the two of them. Kitana noticed and teleported behind Skarlet, and then kicked her in the back to knock her down. Skarlet screamed from the pain and frustration.

"You will stay out of this." Kitana ordered.

Ermac still struggled with being frozen in place. He too saw Shao Kahn being assaulted and every fragment of his being told him to protect the emperor. Even immobilized like this, he could still attack Liu Kang with his telekinesis. However, when Kitana had caused Skarlet that pain, and Skarlet had screamed, the voices in his head screamed at him to help her instead. While not as extreme as the time the tarkatans had attacked, this compulsion overrode Shao Kahn's influence. Ermac lashed out at Kitana with his power, he tried to pull her apart limb by limb, all the while Skarlet crawled towards Shao Kahn and Liu Kang.

Sub Zero grabbed Ermac's hand to make him release Kitana. Ermac swung on Sub Zero but the Lin Kuei blocked it and instantly flash froze Ermac's arm to his own. With his free hand, Sub Zero started to freeze Ermac solid. Ermac struggled against the painful cold but couldn't break free. He looked over to Skarlet, and found her looking back at him. He tried reading her, maybe she was going to help him? She had a look of dread and concern on her face, and then did something that initially horrified Ermac; she stabbed herself in the stomach.

Skarlet's breath hiked at the pain, and she willed a sizeable amount of her blood to flow from her body into her awaiting palm. She felt like she was being deflated, and felt weaker. Nevertheless, a ball of blood congealed in her hand. The red orb tickled at her senses, it was warm and gave off a powerful scent. Skarlet looked once more to Ermac, but instead of throwing the blood ball at Sub Zero, she turned and tossed it at Liu Kang. The ball of red smashed into the shaolin monk, creating a pause in his assault on Shao Kahn. Kahn, beaten and bloody, looked to Skarlet to find her blood stained mouth grinning at him.

"My emperor..." She muttered before Kitana knocked her unconscious.

* * *

_Finished writing this late at night. Any major spelling or grammar errors will be addressed once I've had some sleep. I will admit that the __dialogue and character interactions may not be the greatest in this one; with so many characters, I had to decide who to focus on. I was initially going to have a big fight between Sub Zero and Ermac, but I felt this was dragging on. I would like to thank piloromero, the mysterious guest, and nentone (I hope you enjoyed the action), cold recluse,yungq, and einhorn for their reviews of the previous chapter, along with everyone else who has taken the time to read this story and give me feedback. I would officially call this the end of act 1. Read, review, and enjoy._


	11. The Thought of Humanity

The Outworld invasion of Earthrealm had been repelled almost two weeks ago. In that entire time, no one had heard from Shao Kahn, no one had seen him. The failure of the Soulnado and having barely survived his second fight with Liu Kang left him almost completely drained of power. When he was defeated, and when Outworld was expelled from Earthrealm, a large portion of his standing army was killed. If any were left behind in Earthrealm, they were surely executed or imprisoned. This coupled with the denizens of Outworld beginning to lose faith in the emperor that had now be thwarted by mortals, and and Outworld was starting to look a little more like the Chaosrealm each day. Despite Mileena technically being the next in line for the throne, Shang Tsung had become a very vocal and active governor. Any acts of rebellion, no matter how small, were swiftly dealt with. One example was the operation against the city of Lei Chen, being spearheaded by Ermac.

Lei Chen had been placed under marshall law by a splinter group of the guardsmen that had tired of Shao Kahn's rule. They usurped the local lord and kept the city's resources and wealth for themselves. Since Lei Chen was the such a powerful and influential city, this insolence could not be tolerated or else other cities and villages may rise up as well. Ermac had travelled with a contingent of elite soldiers to the gates of Lei Chen. Ermac approached the two guards standing outside the city walls. They eyed him up, looking unimpressed in comparison to the heavily armed soldiers that travelled him.

"State your business here newcomer." The senor guard demanded.

"We are here on behalf of your emperor, Shao Kahn."

"Hah! Shao Kahn hides in his bed like a sick child. We don't need him."

"We don't care what you **need.** We are here to tell you what you **must **do."

"And what is that little one?" The guard asked aggressively.

"A representative handpicked by Shang Tsung will take over as the lord of Lei Chen. You will turn over the former lord that failed to maintain order, as well as the leader or leaders of your group. Finally, you and your fellow gaurdsmen that took part in this rebellious act will submit to impriosnment, and to the mercy of Shao Kahn's judgement."

"You ask so much but have so little to offer, or to back yourself up. Leave now or suffer the consequences, we will not subject the people of this city to Shao Kahn's tyranny again!"

Ermac peered past the guard and through the open gate into Lei Chen. The people were not enslaved or oppressed; if anything they looked rather happy and relieved. It seemed that they were truly happier governing themselves. It made Ermac more hopeful that the guards would submit, and spare the citizens the violence they would see. Despite his hopes, he held true to his mission and to Shao Kahn.

"Comply, or die." Ermac stated.

The guard drew his sword and made a move against Ermac. Raising both of his hands, Ermac gripped both guards with his powers and pinned them against the walls, slightly up off the ground. They struggled against him but it was pointless.

"Deal with them." Ermac ordered two of the soldiers that had accompanied him.

Two volunteers stepped up with swords drawn. Without hesitation they stabbed the two guards, driving their swords all the way through into the wooden walls. Ermac rested his power and left the two guards impaled against the wall, with their feet dangling and their own weight dragging them farther down onto the blades.

He walked through the gate, onto the main road. People passing by gave him quick glances, but stopped in their tracks when the soldiers followed him in. Fear immediately came to their faces, some dropped what they were doing and scrambled for cover; they knew what was coming. Ermac closed his eyes; absolute panic had erupted amongst these people by his mere presence, and by the knowledge of who and what he was. When he opened his eyes they glowed brightly with his telekinetic power, and with a wave of his hands, he enforced his reason for existing.

* * *

Back in the dungeon she had become so accustomed to, Skarlet knelt, chained and silent. She had woken up in here after being knocked unconscious on the rooftop. She was very confused at first; on the roof was a woman in green, another in blue, Mileena, Sindel, a blue ninja, the shirtless man that had hurt her so bad, Ermac and Shao Kahn. No one was here when she woke up, and no one had come to her since then, not even the rats. She had slept, dreaming incoherently of her last battle.

A sudden echo from the stairs jarred her attention. She slowly opened her eyes and looked towards the door into her cell, and all her senses attuned to it. Judging by the sound, two people were coming. One wore soft material shoes, one wore what must have been boots, heavy and hard. They had very different voices, one smooth and the other deep and deliberate. They wreaked of death, either both or one so badly that it overpowered the other.

"You've taken great strides to increase your influence throughout this realm, will we be ready soon?" The deeper voiced asked.

"Not here, she'll hear us. She's likely heard us all the way from up the stairs." The smoother voice warned.

"What does it matter? She's little more than a beast from what I've heard."

"A dog can learn the meaning of sit, stay, and attack. Don't underestimate her intelligence; I've been observing her and she's been showing more and more humanity."

"You sound proud." The deep voice chuckled.

"Hah, in a way yes."

Skarlet tilted her head; she had never heard someone refer to her as a beast, or someone cite her intelligence. She had also never heard of the term humanity. Her better than perfect vision allowed her to peer through the keyhole on the door; she saw very pale skin. The door opened and a tall, deathly white man with tattoos stepped in; he must've been the one with the heavy step by the look of his boots. Shang Tsung followed behind him.

"Long time no see Skarlet, I trust you've been well." Shang Tsung asked rhetorically.

"It's been quiet." Skarlet answered sarcastically.

Shang Tsung quirked an eyebrow at her tone, and the fact she gave such a clever response. He nodded to Quan Chi, who merely shrugged with an unimpressed expression. He walked around behind her, and Skarlet was sure that the incredible stench of the dead was coming from him. He grabbed her arm and lifted it so he could unlock her shackle. His gloved hand gripped her arm roughly and tightly, and Skarlet had an indescribable bad feeling, figuratively and literally. Her animal instincts wouldn't let this go even as he let go of her so she could stand.

"Why are you unchaining me? Do I have a mission?"

"I have no idea, the emperor has asked for you personally." Shang Tsung answered.

"He has?!" Skarlet gasped.

"He has. He hasn't been seen by anyone since returning from Earthrealm, you should feel honoured."

Skarlet could barely contain her excitement. She looked at Shang Tsung expectantly, like how a dog waits for it's master's permission to eat the food they just provided. Shang Tsung stepped aside and Skarlet hurried past him and up the stairs, just short of running. She heard the two sorcerers speaking even as she ascended, but all she managed to retain was 'useful with'.

Skarlet went to the throne room. It was unusually dark, the emperor not being in his throne removed the need to have lights going constantly. She walked around the back of the huge stone seat towards a curtain that was barely noticeable from the front. She pushed through it to enter a single, somewhat claustrophobic hallway. The door at the end was the entrance to Shao Kahn's quarters. A compulsion inside Skarlet warmed her as she approached the door. She turned the handle, it was unlocked, and stepped through. The room was much bigger than one would expect after having walked through such a narrow hallway. The compulsion she felt before had vanished, now she focused on the actual thing.

Shao Kahn stood cross armed in front of a fireplace. The orange glow illuminated the front of his huge body while leaving the back dark. His helmet rested on a mantle, and Skarlet saw his full head for the first time. He was bald right to the skin. His brow had horn like growths, giving him a permanent scowl.

"Close door." Shao Kahn ordered.

Skarlet obediently did as she was told. Kahn gestured for her to come stand beside him. She timidly walked towards him, and by glancing up she could see his orange slitted eyes staring at her as she approached. She stood silently next to him, facing the fire. His presence so close to her was intoxicating, and the only she paid attention to was his voice.

"I trust very few people Skarlet. Very few people." Shao Kahn stated.

Skarlet pondered that. She thought about what it must be like to trust someone, or to have lost your trust in someone.

"You are my most powerful weapon, I expected the most out of you."

Skarlet now thought about thinking highly of someone.

"When Baraka told me that you massacred my soldiers, I was so disappointed. I thought you had betrayed me...how do you think that made feel?"

Skarlet was suddenly moved to tears.

"Bad." She whispered.

"Bad. Yes. I wondered, where your loyalties lay. Ermac was your handler, I thought maybe I had to punish him. Maybe if I killed him..."

Skarlet involuntarily gasped, and Shao Kahn noticed. He turned fully to her now, with his shadow falling over her. Skarlet looked away, dipping her head slightly.

" I wondered if Shang Tsung's 'talk' with you had been clear enough."

Shao Kahn's huge hand wrapped around Skarlet's neck. His grip was firm, not strangling. Even still, Kahn may as well have been choking her to death, it would have the same effect psychologically.

"I wondered, if I had to deal with you personally."

Skarlet's red eyes couldn't look away from his, and they couldn't stop the tears welling up either.

"But then, when it really came down to it, you proved yourself." Shao Kahn said.

He then let go of her neck and reached up to her mask. He slowly pulled it down, with his thumb grazing her lip. Skarlet's whole mouth, from her cheeks to her tongue, tingled.

"You saved me on that rooftop, something even Ermac didn't do. I know now that you are the one I can confide in."

Skarlet quivered with delight, and her red eyes looked at Shao Kahn glittering hopefully.

"Anything emperor, anything you want I am here to provide!"

Shao Kahn leaned his face closer to hers. They were almost touching. Skarlet took in his breath, it smelt of fine wine. It had more character than Ermac's...

The thought of Ermac made Skarlet check herself. She moved her head back, not enough to notice, but enough for her to realize that she was ready to embrace Shao Kahn before the thought of Ermac made he stop. She didn't get to ponder right then and there why she suddenly challenged her feelings for the most important thing to her, Shao Kahn, because the emperor was already talking into her ear.

"Listen and listen well Skarlet. There are forces at work all around, and I am trusting you with a mission of the utmost importance..."

As Kahn spoke to her, Skarlet breathed heavily with ecstasy and purpose. She also thought about her humanity as Shang Tsung had called it, and decided that she needed to see someone that she hadn't for two weeks.

* * *

_Its been a real long while since I revisited this story. Not much really happened, but I'm still trying to get back into the flow of things. Read, review, and enjoy._


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